I  ilfill  ililiiilliiliii 


LIBEAEY 


BT  765  .S63l 1841 
Snodgrass,  William  Davis, 

1796-1885. 
The  scripture  doctrine  of 

sanctification  stated  and 


^v 


THE  SCRIPTURE  DOCTRINE 


AIOflFieiflOI 


STATED,  AND  DEFENDED 


THE  ERROR  OF  PERFECTIONISM. 

BY  REV.  W.  D.  SNODGRASS,  D.  D., 

PASTOR  OF  THE  SECOND-STREET  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 
TROY,  N.  Y. 


Published  at  the  request  of  the  Synod  of  Albany. 
"  I  have  seen  an  end  of  all  perfection.'-—  Psalm  cxix.  ! 


NE  W-YORK : 

ROBERT  CARTER,  58  CANAL-STREET. 
1841. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by 
Robert  Carter,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for 
the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


N.  tuttle,  printer,  troy. 


The  substance  of  the  following  pages  was  prepared  in  obe- 
dience to  an  appointment  by  the  Synod  of  Albany,  and  deliv- 
ered before  that  body  on  the  evening  of  the  13th  ult.  The 
theme,  as  prescribed  by  the  Synod,  was — The  Doctrine  of 
Sancteficatton,  as  connected  with  prevailing  errors. 
And  the  author  supposed  he  would  best  meet  the  general  ex- 
pectation by  confining  himself  to  the  single  error  which  is 
here  examined  and  exposed.  On  the  day  succeeding  the  de- 
livery of  the  discourse,  a  resolution  was  passed,  requesting 
him  to  furnish  a  copy  for  publication.  And  not  willing,  under 
the  circumstances,  to  deny  the  request,  he  promised,  after  re- 
modeling some  parts  and  enlarging  others  a  little,  to  have  the 
whole  printed  in  something  like  the  form  in  which  it  is  now 
presented. 

Trov,  N.  Y.,  November,  1S41. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/scripturedoctrOOsnod 


PART   I. 

THE  DOCTRINE   OF  SANCTIFICATION. 


1  Thess.  iv.  3.     This  is  the  will  of  God  even  your  sanctifi- 
cation. 


Although  it  is  well  to  be  familiar  with 
the  most  comprehensive  views  which  we 
can  take  of  the  nature  and  designs  of  the 
christian  system,  there  is  also  an  advantage 
in  setting  ourselves  at  times  to  the  examina- 
tion of  its  particular  parts.  Considered  as 
a  whole,  there  is  perfect  unity,  not  only  in 
the  system  itself,  but  in  all  its  operations 
and  fruits  ;  but  it  is  the  unity  of  a  body 
consisting  of  many  members,  or  of  a  build- 
ing composed  of  different  stones.  The 
parts  are  related ;  and  each  one  occupies  a 
place  in  the  formation  of  the  same  great 
1* 


6  SANCTIFICATION 

and  consistent  whole.  But  still,  as  com- 
pared among  themselves,  there  is  a  differ- 
ence between  them.  And  the  more  accu- 
rately we  view  them  in  detail,  the  more  we 
shall  appreciate  them  in  their  combined  ex- 
istence and  in  their  several  bearings  upon 
the  great  end  which  they  are  intended  to 
secure. 

No  attentive  reader  of  the  Bible  can  fail 
to  notice,  that  among  the  parts  which  go  to 
make  up  the  system  of  faith  and  duty  there 
revealed,  a  prominent  place  is  assigned  to 
what  is  called  Saxctificatiox.  "  This  is  the 
will  of  God,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  even  your 
sanctification"  "Sanctify  them  through 
thy  truth,"  says  the  Saviour,  "  thy  word  is 
truth."  Heaven  is  represented  as  "  an  in- 
heritance among  them  that  are  sanctified" 
and  all  true  christians  are  described  as 
"  them  that  are  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Our  first  inquiry  then  shall  be,  What  is 
Saxctificatiox,  as  to  its  general  nature, 
and  in  the  relation  which  it  sustains  to  the 
other  parts  of  the  christian  system  ? 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED. 


In  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  word, 
we  may  say,  that,  while  it  has  various  signifi- 
cations in  Scripture,  there  is  no  dispute  as 
to  its  import  in  the  passages  which  are  quo- 
ted above. — Sometimes,  and  especially  in 
the  phraseology  of  the  Old  Testament,  to 
sanctify  is  nothing  more  than  to  set  apart  a 
person  or  thing  from  a  common  to  a  sacred 
use  by  an  external  and  visible  dedication — 
in  which  sense,  the  Jewish  Temple  and 
Priesthood,  with  all  the  furniture  of  the  form- 
er and  all  the  garments  of  the  latter,  were 
said  to  be  holy.  They  had  no  more  real 
sanctity  than  other  persons  and  things  ;  but 
they  were  relatively  holy,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  formally  consecrated  to  the  worship 
and  service  of  God.  In  the  New  Testament, 
however,  the  word  is  generally  used  with 
an  exclusive  reference  to  persons  ;  and,  in 
its  phraseology,  to  sanctify  them  is  to  make 
them  really  holy.  This  is  the  true  and  pro- 
per sense  of  the  word  ;  and  we  are  thus  to 
understand  it  in  all  those  connexions  in 
which  it  is  used  to  describe  the  great  change 


8  SANCTIFICATION 

which  must  pass  upon  the  moral  character 
of  man  before  he  can  become  a  finished 
subject  of  the  scheme  of  redemption  by  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

The  necessity  of  such  a  change  as  this 
word  imports,  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
state  in  which  the  Gospel  finds  us  is  an  un- 
holy state ;  we  are  defiled,  and  need  to  be 
cleansed;  we  are  polluted,  and  need  to  be 
purified.  And  this  fact  will  come  before 
us  in  its  true  relations,  if  we  advert  for  a 
moment  to  the  two  principal  ways  in  which 
sin  has  affected  us.  In  the  first  place,  it 
has  exposed  us  to  punishment;  and  has 
thereby  affected  us  relatively — that  is,  in 
the  relations  in  which  we  stand  to  the  law 
and  government  of  God.  Instead  of  re- 
garding us  as  innocent,  he  views  us  as 
guilty ;  and,  instead  of  having  a  title  to  his 
favor,  we  are  liable  to  his  wrath  both  here 
and  hereafter.  And,  in  the  second  place, 
it  has  brought  our  nature  into  a  state  of  de- 
pravity or  moral  disorder,  and  has  thereby 
affected  us  inherently.    It  has  corrupted  our 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  9 

moral  character  and  constitution — it  has 
alienated  our  affections  from  God — and 
brought  us  under  the  dominion  of  influences 
which  are  impure  in  their  nature  and  ten- 
dency.— Now,  it  is  with  reference  to  the  ef- 
fects of  sin  in  these  two  important  respects, 
that  the  scheme  of  human  redemption  is 
constructed.  It  provides,  through  the  sa- 
crifice and  intercession  of  the  great  Media- 
tor, for  so  altering  our  relation  to  God  and 
his  law  that  instead  of  being  exposed  to  his 
wrath  we  have  an  interest  in  his  favor. 
And  to  this  department  belongs  all  that  the 
Scriptures  teach  in  relation  to  forgiveness, 
justification,  adoption,  and  a  full  and  public 
acquittal  on  the  day  of  judgment.  But,  in 
addition  to  this,  it  provides,  through  the  of- 
fice and  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the 
rectification  of  our  moral  nature — for  re- 
tracing upon  us  the  image  of  God  which 
has  been  defaced  by  sin — for  restoring  our 
moral  powers  to  their  right  use  and  exer- 
cise— or  for  bringing  us  back,  as  an  Apos- 
tle describes  it,  to  a  state  of  "  righteousness 


10  SAXCTIFICATION 

and  true  holiness."  And  this  department 
of  the  work  is  comprehended  in  what  the 
Scriptures  teach  under  the  name  of  "  Sanc- 
tification."  While  the  other  is  a  work 
without  us,  this  is  a  work  within  us.  And 
the  latter  is  quite  as  necessary  as  the  former 
in  securing  the  great  end  which  the  media- 
tion of  Christ  has  in  view.  For,  of  what 
advantage  would  it  be  to  us  to  be  pardoned 
and  justified,  unless  we  were  also  sanctified 
or  made  holy  ?  An  un\io\y  being  could  not 
be  admitted  to  heaven;  and,  if  it  could,  it 
would  not  be  happy.  Places  and  things 
are  means  and  sources  of  happiness  only  to 
those  in  whom  there  exists  a  corresponding 
taste.  That  which  is  relished  by  one  may 
be  distasteful  to  another,  because  their  lik- 
ings may  run  in  different  directions ;  their 
appetites  may  be  different,  and,  for  this  rea- 
son, if  they  are  to  be  gratified,  they  must  be 
fed  upon  food  of  different  kinds. — Nor  is 
there  any  case  in  which  the  operation  of 
this  principle  is  more  striking  than  in  the  one 
which  we  are  now  considering.     Holy  and 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  11 

unholy  beings  are  at  the  widest  possible  ex- 
tremes as  to  their  moral  tastes  ;  and,  on  this 
account,  different  and  widely  distant  places 
are  assigned  to  them  as  their  future  and 
permanent  abode.  Heaven  is  the  appoint- 
ed habitation  of  the  former — Hell  will  be 
the  common  receptacle  of  the  latter.  In 
Heaven  all  will  be  holiness,  without  any  ad- 
mixture or  proportion  of  sin.  The  place 
itself  will  be  holy ;  all  the  inhabitants  will 
be  holy ;  and  the  same  attribute  will  attach 
to  its  employments  and  pleasures.  There 
is  nothing  to  enter  there  "that  defileth,  nei- 
ther whatsoever  worketh  abomination."  So 
that,  unless  we  are  sanctified,  there  is  a 
double  reason  why  we  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God — we  are  not  only  exclud- 
ed by  a  positive  law  of  the  kingdom  itself; 
but  we  are  excluded  by  a  radical  defect  in 
our  own  nature.  We  must  be  assimilated 
in  character  and  taste  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  place,,  or  heaven  itself  would  be  a 
hell  to  us.  In  short,  there  is  no  place  of 
happiness  for  an  wjsanctified  being  in  the 
universe  of  God. 


12  SANCTIFICATION 

As  to  the  commencement  of  this  necessa- 
ry change,  in  the  case  of  those  who  are 
finally  fitted  for  heaven,  it  is  referred  to  in 
the  use  of  other  words  and  phrases  than 
those  which  mark  its  progress  and  comple- 
tion. It  is  described,  sometimes,  as  a  se- 
cond birth,  sometimes  as  a  passage  from 
death  unto  life,  sometimes  as  a  new  crea- 
tion, and  in  one  place  it  is  called  "  regene- 
ration." This  differs  from  sanctification  as 
the  beginning  of  a  thing  differs  from  its 
continuance.  And  the  relation  of  one  to 
the  other  is  clearly  set  forth  by  an  Apostle, 
when  he  says,  "  He  which  hath  begun  a 
good  work  in  yon  will  perform  it  until  the 
day  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  author  of  the 
work  is  the  same  in  all  its  parts.  He  who 
begins  it  is  the  same  agent  who  carries  it  on ; 
and  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
influence  which  is  exerted  in  its  progress  is 
different  from  that  which  operates  at  the 
commencement.  It  is  one  work,  and  the 
efficient  power  which  is  concerned  in 
producing  it  is  one,  but  it  consists  of  dif- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  13 

ferent  stages  or  degrees.  It  is  not  perfect 
at  once,  but  passes  from  an  imperfect  state 
to  one  which  is  more  perfect.  It  is  not  in- 
stantaneous, but  progressive.  The  "  going 
forth"  of  God  in  its  execution  "is  prepared 
as  the  morning,"  and  he  comes  "  as  the 
rain,  as  the  latter  and  former  rain  unto  the 
earth."  In  regeneration,  the  day  dawns 
and  the  day-star  arises — the  drops  begin  to 
fall  which  are  an  earnest  of  the  approaching 
shower— and,  as  the  light  increases  to  the 
perfect  day,  and  the  drops  multiply  until 
the  surface  of  the  ground  is  saturated  with 
water,  so  is  the  sanctification  of  the  people 
of  God.  He  acts  towards  them  as  he  did 
in  ancient  time  towards  the  people  of  Is- 
rael. He  does  not  drive  out  their  enemies 
before  them  "in  one  day,"  but  "  by  little 
and  little"— "  Beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,"  they  are  "changed 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory." 

In  presenting  it  thus,  it  will  be  seen,  that 
we  regard  sanctification  as  the  work  of 
God.     And  this  view  of  its  nature  is  de- 


14  SAXCTIFICATION 

Branded,  as  well  by  the  obvious  meaning  of 
the  word  as  by  the  uniform  teachings  of 
Scripture  in  the  use  of  other  modes  of  ex- 
pression. Sanctifieation  is  not  synonimous 
with  holiness — it  is  not  the  state  of  one  who 
is  made  holy — but  it  is  the  act  by  which 
such  a  state  is  produced.  It  is  the  work  of 
an  efficient  agent ;  and  this  agent  is  neither 
" blood,"  nor  "the  will  of  the  flesh,"  nor 
"  the  will  of  man,"  but  "  God"— «  He  that 
hath  wrought  us  for  the  self  same  thing  is 
God."  And,  while  it  is  brought  into  view 
as  the  work  of  God  in  general,  it  is  also  re- 
presented as  the  work  of  each  Person  in  the 
Godhead  in  particular.  To  the  Father,  we 
are  directed  to  offer  our  supplications,  that 
he  would  give  us  a  new  heart  and  a  right 
spirit,  that  he  would  circumcise  our  hearts 
to  love  and  fear  him,  that  he  would  sanctify 
us  and  make  us  perfect  in  every  good 
work : — Of  the  Son,  it  is  written,  that 
"He  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  re- 
deem us  from  all  iniquity  and  purify  unto 
himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  15 

works,"  that  he  "  suffered  without  the  gate 
that  he  might  sanctify  the  people  with  his 
own  blood,"  that  he  "loved  the  Church 
and  gave  himself  for  it  that  he  might  sanc- 
tify and  cleanse  it :" — And,  as  revealing  the 
Spirit's  agency  in  the  work,  it  is  called  the 
"  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,"  is  attributed 
to  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit,  and  is  re- 
presented as  a  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 

But,  while  we  regard  it  as  the  work  of 
God,  it  is  important  in  another  view  that  we 
should  regard  it  as  the  work  and  the  duty  of 
max.  The  subject  of  it  is  a  rational  and  re- 
sponsible agent.  He  is  bound  to  be  holy; 
and  nothing  short  of  perfect  holiness  can  an- 
swer to  the  measure  of  his  obligations.  The 
law  of  God,  which  is  the  rule  of  life  to  him, 
is  the  standard  of  holiness ;  and,  until  this 
standard  is  reached,  he  is  properly  dealt 
with  in  the  use  of  arguments,  exhortations, 
and  motives.  He  has  a  duty  to  perform 
and  a  work  to  do  ;  and  that  is  to  follow  ho- 
liness, to  purify  himself,  to  cleanse  himself 
from  all  nlthiness  both  of  the  flesh  and  of 


16  SAXCTIFICATIOX 

the  spirit.  In  prosecuting  this  work,  his  re- 
liance for  success  must  be,  on  the  Spirit  of 
God  working  by  appointed  means.  He 
must  be  active,  yet  he  must  not  depend  up- 
on himself.  He  must  have  recourse  to  me- 
ditation and  prayer,  to  watchfulness  and 
self-examination,  to  christian  intercourse 
and  counsel,  and  to  all  positive  institutions 
especially  the  reading  and  hearing  of  the 
Word ;  but,  in  all  this,  he  must  remember 
that  the  means  are  nothing  without  an  in- 
fluence from  God  to  render  them  effectual. 
Their  whole  efficiency  lies  in  the  fact,  that 
they  are  of  God's  appointment  and  that  he 
has  promised  to  bless  them.  And  hence, 
our  only  encouragement  to  be  active  in  the 
use  of  means,  is  made  to  rest  upon  our 
knowledge  of  the  interposition  and  the 
agency  of  God.  "  Work  out  your  own  sal- 
vation with  fear  and  trembling;  for  it  is 
God  which  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and 
to  do  of  his  good  pleasure." 

Nor  is  there  any  inconsistency  or  confu- 
sion in  the  idea  of  these  two   agencies  as 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  17 

working  together  in  the  production  of  the 
same  result.  They  are  not  of  the  same 
kind ;  the  sphere  of  their  operation  is  not 
the  same  ;  one  is  efficient,  the  other  instru- 
mental. And,  so  accustomed  are  we  to 
assign  to  each  the  place  and  position  of  a 
real  agency,  that  we  often  ascribe  the  same 
event,  sometimes  to  God,  and  sometimes  to 
man.  We  say  of  an  individual  that  he  has 
risen  from  indigence  to  affluence  or  from 
obscurity  to  distinction  by  the  Providence 
of  God ;  but  we  are  not  supposed  to  con- 
tradict ourselves,  if  we  afterwards  say,  that 
he  has  succeeded  by  his  own  prudence, 
wisdom,  and  skill.  Both  statements  are 
true,  though  in  different  senses.  And  ac- 
cordingly they  are  both  adopted  by  the  sa- 
cred writers  in  reference  to  the  work  of 
sanctification.  In  one  place,  we  are  taught 
to  call  upon  God  to  sanctify  us  ;  in  another, 
we  are  commanded  to  sanctify  ourselves. 
One  introduces  God  as  promising  us  a  new 
heart  and  a  right  spirit,  and  another  com- 
mands us  to  make  to  ourselves  a  new  heart 
2* 


18 


SAXCTIFICATIOX 


and  a  right  spirit.  And  both  these  views 
are  important  in  practice,  as  well  as  true 
and  consistent  in  theory.  We  need  the 
idea  of  human  agency  to  incite  ns  to  acti- 
vity ;  and  we  need  the  doctrine  of  Divine 
influence  and  efficiency  to  remind  ns  of  our 
dependence,  to  make  us  pray  "without 
ceasing,"  and  to  secure  the  conviction  that 
our  salvation  is  "not  of  works"  but  of 
"  grace."  "  Not  by  works  of  righteousness 
which  Ave  have  done,  but  according  to  his 
mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  re- 
generation and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

This,  then,  as  to  its  general  nature,  is 
sanctification ;  and  these  are  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  may  be  expected  to 
advance,  considered  both  as  the  work  of 
God  and  the  duty  of  man. 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  19 


PART   II. 

ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


1  Tliess.  v.  23.     And  the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you 
wholly. 


That  full  provision  is  made  for  consum- 
mating the  work  of  sanctification,  as  well  as 
for  its  commencement,  and  progress,  is  not 
doubted  by  any.  All  evangelical  christians 
agree  that  when  the  Apostle  says,  "  This  is 
the  will  of  God  even  your  sanctification," 
he  has  in  view  the  entire  deliverance  of 
those  who  embrace  the  Gospel  from  the 
power  and  pollution  of  sin.  Christ  "gave 
himself  for  the  Church,  "that  he  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  it" — "that  he  might 
present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  Church,  not 
having    spot,     or    wrinkle,    or    any    such 


20  SANCTIFICATION 

thing" — "  that  it  should  be  holy  and  with- 
out blemish."  This  is  the  grand  result 
which  all  the  institutions  and  influences  of 
the  Gospel  have  in  view;  and,  to  entertain 
the  apprehension  of  a  failure  here,  would  be 
to  call  in  question  the  wisdom,  the  foresight, 
the  veracity,  and  the  faithfulness  of  God. 

But  the  certainty  of  an  event  and  the 
time  at  which  we  are  authorized  to  expect 
it,  are  two  different  things.  And  the  ques- 
tion now  arises,  Are  we  authorized  to  be- 
lieve  that  God  ivill  ever  consummate  the 
sanctification  of  his  people  within  the  limits 
of  the  present  life?  Or,  as  the  advocates 
of  the  doctrine  of  Perfection  would  prefer 
to  have  it  stated, 

Is  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION  IN  THIS  LIFE  TO 
BE  REGARDED  AS   AN  ATTAINABLE   STATE  ? 

In  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  this 
question,  it  is  all-important  that  the  terms 
employed  should  be  so  denned  that  no  con- 
fusion of  ideas  may  exist  as  to  their  mean- 
ing. This  is  especially  the  case  in  refer- 
ence to  the  word  entire  : — For,  while  the 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  21 

phrase  '  entire  sanctification'  is  one  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  in  the  writings  of  those 
who  defend  the  doctrine  which  is  now  cur- 
rent under  this  name,  it  is  not  so  clear  that 
they  themselves  have  a  definite  notion  of 
what  they  intend  to  express,  or  adhere  as 
closely  as  they  should  to  what  the  words 
legitimately  imply.  "We  see  the  evidence 
of  this  in  the  fact,  that  the  phrase  in  ques- 
tion is  used  as  convertible  with  others  which 
are  plainly  not  identical  in  their  meaning, 
either  as  compared  with  it  or  with  one  an- 
other. One  of  these  phrases  is,  l  the  con- 
secration of  our  iv hole  being  to  Christ.'' 
And  what  does  this  imply,  according  to  the 
true  meaning  and  force  of  the  words? 
May  we  not  be  consecrated  to  Christ  and 
yet  be  sanctified  only  in  part  ?  Is  not  every 
Christian  consecrated  to  him  ?  And  (if  his 
being  is  capable  of  being  divided  into 
parts)  does  not  the  consecration  extend  to 
one  part  as  well  as  to  another  ? — Another 
phrase  is,  « the  subjection  of  all  our  powers 
and  susceptibilities  to  the  control  of  faith 


22  SANCTIFICATION 

on  the  Son  of  GocV  But  may  not  faith  on 
the  Son  of  God  control  those  who  are  still 
in  a  measure  under  the  influence  of  sin  ? 
Do  not  all  who  are  recovered  to  "newness 
of  life,"  live  by  faith  on  the  Son  of  God? 
And  are  there  any  particular  powers  and 
susceptibilities  of  our  nature  to  which  the 
influence  of  this  faith  extends  more  than  to 
others  ? 

But,  not  to  dwell  upon  the  vagueness  of 
conception  and  expression  which  is  betray- 
ed in  these  and  other  instances  of  the  same 
kind  which  might  be  quoted,  let  us  inquire 
what  a  state  of  l  entire  sanctification'  ought 
fairly  to  be  considered  as  implying. — It  is 
defined  by  a  recent  writer  on  Christian  Per- 
fection, as  involving  "perfect  obedience  to 
the  moral  law."  It  implies,  he  says,  "a 
full  and  perfect  discharge  of  our  entire  duty 
in  respect  to  God  and  to  all  other  beings." 
And,  if  this  definition  were  allowed  to  stand 
unqualified  and  unimpaired,  we  should  de- 
sire no  other.  But  it  falls  out,  in  immediate 
connexion  with  this  language,  that  the  de- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  23 

mands  of  the  law  of  God  upon  us  depend 
upon  our  "circumstances" — that  "our 
powers  are  comparatively  weak" — and  that 
what  is  required  of  us  is  holiness  "corres- 
ponding with  the  reach  of  our  powers." 
We  are  thus  driven  at  once  from  what 
seemed  to  be  safe  and  tenable  ground,  and 
thrown  upon  the  radical  error,  that  the  ex- 
tent of  our  powers,  fallen  as  we  are,  is  the 
ground  and  measure  of  our  obligation. 
Of  course  the  powers  referred  to  are  the 
moral  powers  of  our  nature — those  powers 
which  have  been  affected  by  sin — and 
which  are  "weak"  in  us,  as  compared  with 
the  higher  and  more  perfect  condition  in 
which  they  existed  in  the  primitive  state 
and  constitution  of  man.  And  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  this  position  is,  that, 
the  more  we  sin  and  thereby  debilitate  our 
powers,  the  more  circumscribed  does  the 
sphere  of  our  duty  become — or,  in  other 
words,  that  we  are  excusable  for  not  meet- 
ing the  requisitions  of  the  laAv  of  God  just 
in  proportion  as  we    advance  in  the  career 


-4  SANCTIFICATIOaS 

of  rebellion  against  him.  And,  if  there  is 
either  truth  or  safety  in  this  position,  then 
the  shortest  road  to  entire  sanctification  is 
the  highway  of  sin.  We  have  only  to  per- 
severe in  sin  until  our  powers  become  so 
"weak"  that  we  have  no  farther  capability 
of  obeying  any  part  of  the  Divine  law,  and 
then  we  are  sanctified  to  the  full  extent  of 
our  obligations;  because  our  "circum- 
stances" are  such  that  Ave  are  under  no  ob- 
ligation whatever. 

But  the  law  of  God  is  not  the  sport  of 
circumstances,  as  this  absurd  and  dangerous 
position  would  imply.  Other  things  may 
be  susceptible  of  modification  or  change  ; 
but  this  rule  of  conduct,  like  its  glorious  au- 
thor, is  "the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever."  It  makes  the  same  demands  up- 
on devils  that  it  does  upon  holy  angels,  and 
the  same  demands  upon  fallen  man  that  it 
did  upon  man  in  his  primitive  state.  It  is 
nothing  else  than  a  declaration  of  injunc- 
tions which  are  in  accordance  with  the  per- 
fections of  God ;  and,  while  these  perfec- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED. 


25 


tions  continue  to  be  what  they  are,  he  can 
accept  of  nothing  as  his  law  which  is  mea- 
sured by  a  different  standard  or  graduated 
by  a  different  rule. — And  hence  the  care  of 
the  Great  Teacher  to  produce  the  impres- 
sion upon  the  human  mind  that  he  had  "  not 
come  to  destroy  the  law."  It  was  the 
same  when  he  came  into  the  world  that  it 
always  had  been;  and,  instead  of  lowering 
the  standard  of  obedience  which  it  had 
erected,  he  made  it  his  business  to  renew 
and  ratify  it  by  the  disclosure  of  still  more 
affecting  and  solemn  sanctions.  As  left  by 
him,  it  required  men,  in  vieAV  of  a  clearer 
revelation  of  '  eternal  judgment'  than  had 
ever  been  made  before,  to  love  the  Lord 
their  God  with  all  their  heart,  with  all  their 
soul,  with  all  their  mind,  and  with  all  their 
strength.  To  this  law,  then,  we  are  ame- 
nable now.  And,  if  there  is  any  one  among 
all  our  thoughts,  words,  or  actions,  which 
is  not  up  to  the  standard  of  its  requisitions — 
if  we  vary  from  them,  in  any  one  affection 
or  emotion  of  soul — if  we  depart,  for  an  in- 
3 


26  SAXCTIFICATIOX 

stant,  from  the  exercise  of  supreme  affection 
for  God,  or  unadulterated  charity  towards 
our  fellow  men — if  there  is  about  us  the 
least  taint  of  any  thing  like  pride,  unbelief, 
ingratitude,  hardness  of  heart,  impatience, 
discontent,  impurity,  earthly-mindedness, 
or  covetousness — then  we  are  not  entirely 
sanctified.  There  is  still  a  distance  between 
us  and  the  point  at  which  we  should  aim : — 
Instead  of  congratulating  ourselves  that  we 
have  ''already  attained,"  we  have  reason 
to  forget  "those  things  which  are  behind" 
and  to  reach  forth  "unto  those  things  which 
are  before." 

By  entire  sanctification,  then,  in  the  only 
fair  and  consistent  sense  of  the  expression, 
we  must  understand  perfect  conformity  both 
in  letter  and  spirit  to  every  part  of  that  law 
which  was  originally  written  upon  the  heart 
of  man — which  was  afterwards  revealed  to 
Israel  on  Mount  Sinai — which  is  renewed 
and  ratified   in  the   teachings  of  the   New 

o 

Testament — and  not  only  established  and 
fulfilled,  but  magnified  and  made  honorable, 
in  the  mediation  of  Christ. 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  27 

And  here  I  take  occasion  to  say,  that 
sanctification  to  the  full  extent  of  what  this 
law  requires,  would  be  a  state  of  holiness 
admitting  of  no  progression  or  higher  de- 
grees.— Some,  perhaps,  may  regard  this  as 
self-evident,  and  therefore  as  unworthy  of 
being  repeated ;  but  there  is  a  phase  of  the 
error  we  are  about  to  consider  which  ren- 
ders the  remark  important.  Its  friends  in- 
sist that  holiness  may  be  perfect  "in  kind" 
or  "in  its  nature,"  but  be  "finite  in  de- 
gree." And,  as  illustrating  this  distinction, 
we  are  referred  to  the  difference  between 
the  holiness  of  a  child  and  the  holiness  of  a 
man — between  the  holiness  of  a  saint  on 
earth  and  the  holiness  of  a  seraph  in  hea- 
ven. The  child  and  the  man,  the  saint  and 
the  seraph,  are  all  supposed  to  be  free  from 
sin — they  are  entirely  holy — but  the  degrees 
of  holiness  appertaining  to  the  man  and  the 
seraph  are  supposed  to  be  greater  than  those 
appertaining  to  the  child  and  the  saint ;  be^ 
cause  the  powers  of  the  former  exceed  those 
of  the  latter !     But  let  us  not  be  deceived 


28  SAXCTIFICATION 

by  the  sound  and  confusion  of  words  with- 
out knowledge.  What  has  the  strength  or 
maturity  of  a  creature's  powers  to  do  with 
a  mere  question  of  fact  as  to  the  degree  of 
his  sinfulness  or  sanctification  ?  What  are 
degrees  of  sin  and  holiness  but  degrees  of 
conformity  or  disconformity  to  the  law  of 
God  ?  And,  when  this  conformity  is  com- 
plete, what  is  there  beyond  it  in  which  holi- 
ness can  be  supposed  to  consist?  Is  a 
child  who  is  perfectly  sanctified  less  holy 
in  degree  than  a  man  in  the  same  state, 
merely  because  the  latter  has  more  bodily 
stature,  greater  intellectual  strength,  or 
more  extensive  knowledge  ?  What,  in 
short,  is  holiness  but  freedom  from  sin  ? — 
and  how  can  a  creature  who  is  entirely  free 
from  sin  be  delivered  from  it  in  a  still  high- 
er degree  ?  The  Scriptures  call  upon  us  to 
be  holy  as  God  is  holy,  and  perfect  as  our 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect;  but  where 
would  be  the  possibility  of  such  conformity 
if  it  were  of  the  nature  of  holiness  to  rise 
and  fall  according  to  the  powers  of  the  be- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  29 

ing  in  whom  it  resides  ?  In  respect  to  the 
reach  of  our  powers,  we  shall  never  attain 
to  an  equality  with  God ;  but  in  respect  to 
holiness,  if  we  are  his,  we  shall  be  "like 
him" — as  free  from  the  indwelling  and  de- 
filement of  sin — and  as  entirely  conformed 
to  his  image,  in  this  respect,  as  was  the  first 
man  when  he  "  became  a  living  soul,"  or 
as  the  angels  now  are  who  kept  their  first 
estate. 

As  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  attain- 
able, when  applied  to  the  state  described 
in  the  preceding  remarks,  we  have  no  other 
purpose  than  to  use  it  in  its  most  obvious 
and  popular  sense — as  importing  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  thing  to  which  it  refers. 
An  attainable  thing,  is  something  the  at- 
tainment of  which  is  practicable ;  an  unat- 
tainable thing,  is  something  the  attainment 
of  which  is  not  practicable. — And,  on  the 
question  which  relates  to  the  practicability 
of  attaining  to  a  state  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  in  this  life,  I  feel  compelled  to  join 
issue,  not  merely  with  the  professed  advo- 
3* 


30  SANCTIFICATION 

cates  of  the  doctrine,  but  also  with  some  of 
those  who  have  undertaken  to  shield  the 
truth  from  the  weapons  which  in  this  quar- 
ter have  been  directed  against  it. 

In  a  recent*  publication — the  venerable 
author  of  which  argues  in  some  respects 
with  zeal  and  ability,  as  well  as  with  the 
best  spirit,  against  the  doctrine  of  Perfec- 
tion— I  find  it  admitted,  "  that  we  may  ren- 
der to  God  the  perfect  obedience  which  he 
requires;"  that  "we  may  render  perfect 
obedience,  if  we  apply  ourselves  to  the 
work  as  we  ought,  and  fully  avail  ourselves 
of  the  gracious  provisions  of  the  Gospel;" 
"  that  a  proper  use  of  means  will  secure  it ;" 
"that  we  shall  obtain  it,  if  we  do  what  Ave 
ought;"  "arid  that,  if  we  fail  of  obtaining 
it,  truth  will  require  us  to  say  that  we  might 
have  obtained  it."  The  author,  therefore, 
admits  that  Perfection  in  this  life  is  attain- 
able— claims  for  this  admission  the  common 
consent  of  evangelical  christians — and  re- 
serves,  as   the   only  ground  on   which  to 

#  Woods'  reply  to  Mahan. 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  31 

make  his  defence,  that  perfect  holiness  nev- 
er is  attained  in  this  world  as  a  matter  of 
fact. — Now  this,  I  cannot  but  regard,  as 
virtually  giving  up  the  matter  in  dispute — 
as  yielding  in  one  form  what  is  denied  and 
opposed  in  another.  For  if  men  may  ren- 
der perfect  obedience,  by  a  proper  use  of 
means,  where  is  the  authority  for  saying 
they  will  never  do  it  ?  Who  is  authorized 
to  affirm  that  what  they  can  do  they  never 
will  accomplish  ?  If  it  should  be  said  that 
the  difficulty  lies  in  the  want  of  will — that 
they  might  do  it  if  they  would — but  that  it 
never  will  be  done  because  no  one  will  ever 
be  willing  to  do  it — I  reply  that  this  is 
claiming  a  knowledge  of  the  future  to  which 
no  one  has  any  right  to  pretend.  The 
want  of  will  which  is  supposed  to  have  ex- 
isted hitherto  in  the  ease  of  all,  may  here- 
after be  removed  in  the  case  of  some ; — 
Nay,  it  is  removed  in  the  case  of  every  in- 
dividual now  living  who  has  a  place  in  the 
family  of  God.  "Thy  people,"  says  the 
Psalmist,  "shall  be  willing'  in  the  day  of 


32  SAXCTIFICATION 

thy  power."  By  the  grace  of  God,  this 
important  faculty  of  their  mental  and  moral 
constitution  is  so  renewed,  that  "to  will  is 
present"  with  them — they  "would  do 
good" — but  "  how  to  perform  that  which  is 
good"  is  the  difficulty  which  they  find. 
There  is  something  more  in  the  way,  there- 
fore, than  a  mere  want  of  will.  But  still, 
it  matters  not  what  it  is,  if  it  be  something 
which  may  be  surmounted.  If  it  is,  who 
shall  say  that  no  man  is  ever  to  arise  who 
will  surmount  it,  and  go  on  to  perfection  ? 
Nay,  where  is  the  man  now  living,  who 
may  not  expect,  in  the  use  of  proper  means, 
to  do  so  himself?  In  short,  is  it  not  almost 
a  contradiction  in  terms,  to  say,  that  a  thing 
may  be  attained,  and  yet  that  no  one  need 
expect  to  attain  it — that  it  lies  within  the 
reach  of  all,  and  yet  that  in  attempting  to 
reach  it  there  is  infallible  certainty  that  all 
will  fail  ? 

I  regard  it,  then,  as  proper  to  say  that 
entire  sanctification  in  this  life  is  not  an  at- 
tainable state.     And  my  reasons  for  believ- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  33 

ing  so  may  be   arranged  under  the   three 
following  heads, 

I.  It  never  has  been  attained. 

II.  It  is  no  ivhere  intimated  in  the  word 
of  God  that  it  either  may  or  will  be. 

III.  To  suppose  it,  is  to  suppose  that  which 
woidd  disagree  with  a  variety  of  known 
and  acknowledged  facts. 

I.  If  a  state  of  entire  sanctification  ever 
has  been  attained,  it  certainly  falls  to  the  lot 
of  those  who  assert  the  fact,  to  prove  it  by 
the  production  of  an  instance.  And  where 
shall  such  an  instance  be  found  ?  If  found 
at  all,  it  will  doubtless  be  among  those  dis- 
tinguished men,  "of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy,"  who,  though  dead,  continue 
to  speak  in  the  biography  and  history  of 
the  sacred-volume.  But  to  which  of  their 
number  shall  we  refer,  as  presenting  the 
desired  specimen  ? — It  is  not  denied,  that 
there  are  words  and  phrases  employed  in 
Scripture,  which,  if  understood  in  the  great- 
est latitude  of  meaning  of  which  they  are 
susceptible,   would  imply    that  not  a  few 


34  SANCTIFICATIGN 

both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  saints 
were  without  sin.  These  are  such  as  the 
words  "perfect,"  "entire,"  "complete," 
"blameless."  It  is  said  of  Noah,  Job,  and 
others,  that  they  were  perfect — of  all  chris- 
tians, that  they  are  complete — -of  Zachariah 
and  Elizabeth,  that  they  walked  in  all  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord 
blameless.  But,  it  is  granted  on  all  hands, 
that  these  and  other  terms  of  similar  import 
are  often  used  in  a  qualified  and  restricted 
sense ;  and  therefore  no  decisive  proof  can 
be  drawn  from  their  appearance  in  this 
connection.  They  occur  in  the  sacred  writ- 
ings, as  they  do  in  the  language  of  ordinary 
conversation,  as  signifying  high  degrees  of 
excellency,  but  not  absolute  perfection. 
When  we  say  of  an  individual,  '  He  is  a 
perfect  character,'  we  are  never  suspected 
of  intending  to  convey  the  idea  that  he  is 
without  a  fault — that  he  is  an  angel  as  to 
his  moral  purity — that  he  is  free  from  all 
error  in  opinion,  and  all  imperfection  in  the 
discharge  of  duty.     Instead  of  this,  what 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  35 

we  mean  to  express  is,  that  he  is  a  person 
of  uniformly  correct  unci  praiseworthy  de- 
portment. His  character  is  well  balanced, 
and,  in  this  sense,  complete — his  life  is  a 
well  regulated  life — there  is  no  one  respect 
in  which  he  especially  fails — and  we  there- 
fore apply  to  him  the  idea  of  perfection, 
and  point  to  him  as  an  example  to  be  imi- 
tated by  others. 

Bearing  this  in  mind,  then,  Ave  pursue  the 
inquiry — Where  shall  we  find  a  specimen 
of  entire  sanetification  among  the  eminent 
saints,  who  still  live  and  speak  in  the  bio- 
graphies of  the  sacred  volume,  whose  me- 
morial has  not  perished,  and  who  "shall 
be  in  everlasting  remembrance?"  Shall 
we  find  it  in  the  max  of  the  New  Testa- 
mext.  who  was  "not  a  whit  behind  the  very 
chiefest  Apostles,"  who  "labored  more 
abundantly  than  they  all,"  and  who  "re- 
sisted unto  blood  striving  against  sin?" — I 
commence  with  the  examination  of  his 
case;  because  it  seems  impossible  to  doubt, 
in  view  of  what  is  said  of  his  life  and  cha- 


36  SANCTIFICATION 

racter,  that  he  was  intended  expressly  to  be 
an  example  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  The 
manner  of  his  conversion — the  rank  which 
he  took  as  an  Apostle— his  ardent  zeal  in 
the  cause  of  his  master — the  great  success 
which  attended  his  labors — his  wonderful 
seasons  of  communion  with  God  and  eter- 
nal things — his  rapture  to  the  third  hea- 
ven— and  his  fervent  longings  to  depart  and 
be  with  Christ — all  testify  that  he  was  an 
extraordinary  man.  He  was  raised,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  to  a  level  above  that  which 
was  occupied  by  others,  that  he  might  be 
justified  in  saying  to  them,  "Be  ye  follow- 
ers of  me."  Indeed  he  is  the  only  being 
in  human  form — with  the  single  exception 
of  him  "who  was  holy,  harmless,  undefil- 
ed,  and  separate  from  sinners" — who,  in 
any  part  of  the  Bible,  assumes  the  responsi- 
bility of  recommending  himself  as  an  ex- 
ample to  be  imitated  by  others.  And,  un- 
der these  circumstances,  we  may  well  re- 
gard his  attainments  in  the  christian  life  as 
attainments  that  never  have  been,  and  pro- 


STATED  AND  DEPENDED.  37 

bably  never  will  be,  surpassed.  This,  I 
believe,  is  neither  denied  nor  doubted  by 
those  who  plead  for  perfection  in  this  life; 
and  accordingly  to  prove  that  Paul  ivas 
entirely  sanctified,  is  one  of  the  points  to 
which  their  efforts  are  directed. — Let  us 
examine  this  point,  with  some  attention, 
and  see  what  the  result  will  be. 

In  the  third  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the 
Phillippians,  the  Apostle  gives  the  most  ex- 
tended and  minute  account  of  himself, 
which  his  writings  contain,  as  to  the  pro- 
cess which  he  had  made  in  his  christian 
course.  He  introduces  himself  to  the  no- 
tice of  his  readers,  as  having  started  in  a 
"race"  and  as  pressing  on  towards  the 
goal,  with  a  view  of  securing  the  prize. 
He  supposes  the  same  circumstances  to  be 
present,  which  distinguished  the  natural 
race,  as  run  at  the  celebration  of  the  an- 
cient games.  He  supposes  his  course  to  be 
marked  out  and  prescribed  in  the  Gospel : — 
He  regards  Jesus  Christ  as  having  "appre- 
hended," or  laid  hold  on  him,  to  draw  him 
4 


38  SANCTIPICATION 

into  this  course,  and  to  support  and  urge 
him  forward  in  the  contest : — He  has  his 
eye  fixed  on  a  mark,  which  he  calls  "the 
mark  for  the  prize" — a  goal  which  he  must 
reach  before  the  prize  could  be  awarded : — 
And,  in  connexion  with  the  mark,  is  the 
prize  itself — the  crown  of  life — the  incor- 
ruptible crown,  which  every  winner  in  this 
race  will  receive,  as  the  reward  of  his  vic- 
tory.— I  need  not  occupy  the  time  of  the 
reader,  in  showing  that  "the  mark"  for  this 
prize  is  perfection  in  holiness ;  because  this 
is  the  only  mark,  or  termination  of  his 
course,  to  which  the  christian  is  allowed  to 
have  respect.  This  is  the  only  goal,  to 
which  he  is  commanded  to  run — the  only 
point,  at  which  he  is  permitted  to  stop — the 
only  line,  beyond  which  there  is  nothing 
more  to  be  acquired  or  done.  As  a  chris- 
tian, there  is  nothing  else  Which  he  is  bound 
to  do,  than  to  seek  and  obtain  a  state  of  en- 
tire conformity  to  the  image  and  will  of 
God,  both  in  heart  and  in  life.  Having  ar- 
rived at  this  state,  his  work  is  finished — he 


ITATED  AND  DEFENDED. 


39 


can  run  no  farther — his  obligations  are  all 
discharged — he  has  come  up  to  the  mark, 
and  is  ready  for  the  prize. 

Let  it  now  be  considered,  that,  when  this 
memorable  passage  was  written,  the  Apos- 
tle had  been  running  the   race,  which  he 
describes,   for  a  period  of  something  like 
thirty  years.      He   was  not   far   from  the 
point,    at  which   he    afterwards    said,    "I 
have  finished  my  course  :" — In  about  three 
years  more,  he  was  to  reach  the  goal,  and 
obtain  the  crown   of  righteousness,   which 
the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge  had  promised 
to  give   him.      And,  under  these   circum- 
stances, what  does  he  say  concerning  his 
progress  ?      "  Not  as  though  I  had  already 
attained,  either  were  already  perfect  ;  but  I 
follow  after" — "  Brethren,  I  count  not  my- 
self to  have  apprehended  ;  but  this  one  thing 
I  do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are  be- 
hind and   reaching  forth  unto  those  things 
which  are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark." 
As  if  he  had  said — '  After  all  the  progress  I 
have  made  in  the  divine  life,  there  are  other 


40  SANCTIFICATION 

and  still  higher  attainments  before  me — I 
pretend  not  to  have  reached  the  point,  at 
which  I  am  aiming,  but  only  to  be  ap- 
proaching it — all  that  I  can  claim  is,  that, 
instead  of  being  satisfied  with  past  efforts, 
I  am  intent  upon  still  higher  degrees  of  pro- 
ficiency and  success.' 

Nor  is  this  different  from  the  evidence 
arising  from  all  the  other  parts  of  his  life  and 
teaching.  He  never  speaks  of  himself,  in 
language  which  implies,  that  he  was  with- 
out sin,  or  had  obtained  a  complete  victory 
over  it ;  but,  very  often,  in  such  terms  as 
show,  that  he  was  put  to  the  necessity  of  a 
constant  struggle  against  its  temptations  and 
defilements.  He  unites  with  the  Hebrews 
in  saying,  "  Let  us  lay  aside  every  weight, 
and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us" — 
regarding  himself,  in  common  with  them,  as 
exposed  to  the  influence  of  besetting  sins. 
He  records,  in  his  Second  Letter  to  the 
Corinthians,  that  his  tendency  to  spiritual 
pride  was  such,  that  there  was  given  to  him 
"  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Sa- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  41 

tan  to  buffet  him."  And  who  can  believe, 
that  the  sharp  contention  between  him  and 
Barnabas  would  ever  have  occurred,  if  his 
mind  and  affections  had  been  in  a  state  of 
entire  sanctification  ? 

But  the  fullest  evidence,  on  this  subject, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  where  his  struggles 
with  remaining  sin  are  described  at  length. 
He  there  speaks  expressly,  of  sin,  as  dwell- 
ing in  him — of  evil,  as  being  present  with 
him — of  a  law  in  his  members,  warring 
against  the  law  of  his  mind,  and  bringing 
him  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin,  which 
was  in  his  members.  This  testimony,  in 
its  terms,  is  so  direct  and  conclusive,  that 
the  only  way  of  evading  its  force,  is  to  de- 
ny that  the  Apostle  is  here  referring  to  him- 
self as  a  christian  at  all ;  and  to  take  the 
ground,  that,  although  he  speaks  in  the 
present  tense,  he  means  to  describe  exer- 
cises of  mind  through  which  he  had  passed 
in  former  times — conflicts  with  himself,  un- 
der convictions  of  sin,  which  occurred  be- 
4* 


42  SANCTIFICATIOX 

fore  his  conversion.  This,  accordingly,  is 
the  position,  so  far  as  I  know,  of  all  who 
contend  for  sinless  perfection  in  this  life. 
They  insist  upon  the  advantage  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  example  of  Paul,  and  there- 
fore argue,  that,  in  this  account  of  his  spi- 
ritual conflicts,  he  speaks  of  himself  as  a 
sinner  "  under  the  law,"  and  not  as  a  be- 
liever "  under  grace."  But,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  violence  which  is  done  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  common  reader,  in  suppos- 
ing the  Apostle  to  describe  past  events  in 
the  use  of  the  present  tense — to  say  nothing 
of  the  absurdity  of  an  unconverted  sinner 
exclaiming,  as  he  does  in  this  passage,  "  I 
delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man" — to  say  nothing  of  the  striking  simi- 
larity between  his  language  here  and  in 
other  places  in  which  he  speaks,  confessed- 
ly as  a  christian,  of  the  flesh  lusting  against 
the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh — 
and  to  say  nothing  of  the  fitness  of  such  ex- 
pressions, to  describe  the  actual  exercises  of 
the  best  and  holiest  men  who  have  lived  in 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  43 

succeeding  ages — all  these  considerations 
apart,  it  is  enough  to  decide  the  question,  to 
bring  it  into  the  light  of  historical  facts,  con- 
cerning which  there  can  be  no  dispute.  Let 
any  candid  inquirer  look  back  upon  the  char- 
acter and  life  of  this  distinguished  individual, 
before  his  conversion ;  and  see  whether,  in 
the  progress  of  his  history,  there  is  any 
place  for  such  a  scene  as  that  which  is  here 
described — any  interval  of  time,  either  long 
or  short,  during  which  he  was  the  subject 
of  these  distressing  contentions  with  the 
power  of  sin.  In  reference  to  the  whole 
period  of  his  former  life,  his  testimony  con- 
cerning himself  is,  that,  "  as  touching  the 
righteousness  which  is  in  the  law,"  he  was 
"blameless:" — He  was  not  only  "  an  He- 
brew of  the  Hebrews,"  but  a  Pharisee  of  the 
Pharisees — an  eminent  individual  among 
that  class  of  persons,  who  supposed  them- 
selves to  be  doing  their  whole  duty,  and 
who  felt  entitled  to  say,  at  the  very  altar 
of  God:  'We  thank  thee,  that  we  are 
not  as  other  men  are  !'     In  his  defence  be- 


44  SAXCTIFICATION 

fore  Agrippa,  he  says  :  "  My  manner  of 
life  from  my  youth,  which  was  at  the  first 
among  mine  own  nation  at  Jerusalem, 
know  all  the  Jews ;  which  knew  me  from 
the  beginning,  if  they  would  testify,  that, 
after  the  most  straitest  sect  of  our  religion, 
I  lived  a  Pharisee."  Nor  were  his  self- 
righteous  feelings  disturbed,  even  for  a  mo- 
ment, by  what  he  did  immediately  before 
his  conversion,  in  persecuting  the  Church 
of  God.  In  all  that  fell  out  in  the  progress 
of  that  bloody  scene,  he  was  guided  by 
what  he  verily  thought  within  himself  he 
ought  to  do.  In  short,  it  is  as  clear  as  any 
historical  fact  can  possibly  be,  that  up  to 
the  very  moment  at  which  the  light  from 
heaven  flashed  upon  him,  on  his  way  from 
Jerusalem  to  Damascus,  he  supposed  him- 
self to  be  an  entirely  sanctified  person.  He 
was  then  a  Perfectionist  truly: — He  not 
only  advocated  the  doctrine,  but  regarded 
himself  as  its  brightest  exemplification  : — 
He  stood  as  the  leader  of  the  only  sect  of 
this    description  which  distinguished    and 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  45 

disturbed  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  How 
significantly  does  he  allude  to  the  self-com- 
placency of  that  period,  when  he  says,  in 
the  commencement  of  the  passage  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking,  "I  was  alive  with- 
out the  law,  once!"  The  "once,"  of 
which  he  speaks  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  the 
time  which  preceded  his  conversion.  Dur- 
ing any  part  of  that  time,  he  saw  no  reason 
to  find  fault  with  his  religious  character  and 
condition.  He  was  all  that  he  wished  to 
be,  and  his  hopes  of  heaven  were  firm  and 
bright.  "But,  when  the  commandment 
came"  as  it  did  at  the  time  of  his  conver- 
sion, and  brought  to  his  mind  a  true  know- 
ledge of  sin,  and  crucified  his  hopes  of  sal- 
vation by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  then  he 
abandoned  his  favorite  notion  of  perfection, 
as  applied  either  to  himself  or  others,  and 
became  a  mourner,  for  the  rest  of  his  days, 
under  the  consciousness  and  burden  of  in- 
dwelling sin.  He  now  saw  the  spirituality 
of  the  law,  as  contrasted  with  the  carnality 
of  his  affections  : — He  saw  the  field  of  hu- 


46  SAXCTIFICAT10N 

man  obligation  and  duty  to  be  "  exceeding 
broad  :" — and  he  had  a  disposition  to  oc- 
cupy and  improve  it.  But,  while  engaged 
in  his  best  and  most  successful  efforts,  he 
found,  in  many  instances  and  respects,  that 
when  he  would  do  good  evil  was  present 
with  him — that  the  good  which  he  would, 
that  he  did  not;  and  that  the  evil  which  he 
would  not,  that  he  did —  and  that  all  this 
was  to  be  referred  to  the  remaining  corrup- 
tion of  a  nature  sanctified  only  in  part — 
"  now,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that 
dwelleth  in  me."  So  that,  instead  of  re- 
garding himself  as  having  nothing  more  to 
do  in  the  warfare  against  sin,  he  could  ex- 
claim from  the  depths  of  his  bitter  expe- 
rience, "  O  wretched  man  that  lam!  who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death?" 

We  pass,  now,  from  the  case  of  Paul, 
and  extend  our  search  after  the  specimen 
of  entire  sanctification,  to  some  of  the  other 
eminent  saints,  who  are  referred  to  as  ex- 
amples in  the  sacred  volume.     And  if,  after 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  47 

him,  there  are  any  among  whom  the  object 
of  this  search  is  likely  to  be  found,  they  must 
surely  be  such  persons, — as  Noah,  concern- 
ing whom  it  is  said,  that  he  was  "a  just 
man  and  perfect  in  his  generations," — or 
Job,  of  whom  the  spirit  testifies,  that  there 
was  "none  like  him  in  all  the  earth," — or 
Abraham,  who  sustained  the  relation  of  fa- 
ther to  all  the  faithful, — or  Moses,  whom 
the  Lord  knew  face  to  face, — or  David, 
who  was  the  man  after  God's  own  heart, — 
or  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  who  "  were 
both  righteous,"  and  of  whom  we  have  al- 
ready spoken,  as  "  walking  in  all  the  com- 
mandments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord 
blameless."  These  are  the  persons,  con- 
cerning whom  it  is  said,  "Be  ye  followers 
of  them,  who  through  faith  and  patience  in- 
herit the  promises."  And  yet,  there  is  not 
one  of  their  number,  in  regard  to  whom  it 
is  not  expressly  recorded,  that  their  perfec- 
tion was  a  limited  or  qualified  perfection. 
The  perfection  of  Noah  was  stained,  by  the 
sin  of  intoxication ;  and  that  of  Job,  by  an 


48  SANCTIFICATION 

imprecation  upon  the  day  of  his  birth; — 
Abraham  was  guilty  of  prevarication ; — 
Moses  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips; — 
David  fell  into  the  crimes  of  adultery  and 
murder; — and  Zacharias  was  struck  dumb, 
because  he  believed  not  the  words  of  the 
Lord.  It  is  indeed  an  instructive  and  strik- 
ing fact,  that,  when  we  find  the  record  of 
eminent  holiness  in  the  Bible,  we  generally 
find  over-against  it  the  record  of  some  in- 
stance of  transgression — as  if  to  remind  us, 
.that,  "there  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth 
that  doeth  good  and  sinneth  not," — that  this 
world  is  not  the  place  for  unalloyed  and  un- 
corrupted  piety, — and  that  those  who  pre- 
tend to  it,  arrogate  to  themselves,  what  the 
best  days  and  the  brightest  ornaments  of 
the  Church  of  God  have  never  produced. 

So  far,  then,  as  the  scriptural  models  of 
faith  and  holy  living  are  concerned,  we 
think  it  beyond  a  doubt,  that  they  present 
no  example  of  entire  sanctification.  And, 
having  failed  to  find  such  an  example 
among  these  models,   it  is  scarcely  worth 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  49 

while  to  pursue  the  inquiry  farther.  It  may 
not  be  unimportant,  however,  to  remark  in 
general  terms,  that,  in  relation  to  entire 
sanctification,  considered  as  ^practical  mat- 
ter, there  is  a  striking  coincidence  in  the 
experience  and  views  of  the  most  eminent 
saints  in  every  age.  Take  up  the  diary  of 
any  one,  whom  we  all  acknowledge  to  have 
been  pre-eminent  in  holiness ;  and,  in  turn- 
ing over  its  pages,  you  will  find,  that,  as  the 
piety  of  the  individual  rises,  his  sense  of  re- 
maining sin  becomes  deeper  and  more  af- 
flicting. The  seasons  of  his  closet  commun- 
ion with  God,  are  the  seasons  in  which  he 
sees  most  in  himself  to  be  repented  of  and 
subdued.  The  nearer  he  comes  to  the 
throne,  the  lower  he  lies  in  confession  and 
self-abasement.  It  is  not  when  he  hears  of 
God  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  when  his 
eye  seeth  Him,  that  he  abhors  himself  and 
repents  in  dust  and  in  ashes.  In  short,  it  is 
when  his  devotion  burns  with  the  brightest 
and  purest  flame,  that  he  has  the  clearest 
insight  into  the  depravity  of  his  own  nature : 
5 


50  SAXCTIFICATION 

So  that,  while  he  is  sensible  of  an  increase 
of  grace,  he  is  equally  sensible  that  more 
grace  is  still  needed  to  carry  on  and  com- 
plete his  deliverance  from  sin. 

As  the  result,  then,  of  this  inquiry  into 
the  facts  of  the  case,  it  is  fair  to  infer,  that 
a  state  of  entire  sanctification  in  this  life  has 
never  been  attained.  This  I  acknowledge, 
however,  does  not  of  itself  settle  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  it  may  be  attained.  The 
proof,  thus  far,  is  merely  presumptive.  We 
infer  that  it  may  not,  from  the  fact,  that,  thus 
far,  it  has  not  been — without  touching  the 
question  of  probability,  as  to  the  future. 
But  we  proceed,  now,  to  remark 

II.  That,  while  a  state  of  entire  sanctifi- 
cation in  this  life  never  has  been  attained, 
it  is  no  ivhere  declared  or  intimated  in  the 
word  of  God,  in  any  umy3  that  it  either  may 
or  will  be. 

And  here,  I  take  occasion  to  say,  as  un- 
der the  former  particular:  If  there  is  an  in- 
timation to  this  effect  in  the  Bible,  either 
direct  or   implied,   it  behooves  those  who 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  51 

make  the  assertion  to  prove  it  by  the  pro- 
duction of  an  instance.     No  doubt  they  do 
produce,  what   they  themselves   regard  as 
satisfactory  ;  but  let  us  examine  the  ground 
of  their  claim  to  success,  in  this  department, 
with  some  degree  of  particularity  and  care. 
I  have  already  said,  that  no  stress  is  to  be 
laid,  in  this  discussion,    on  the  mere  use  of 
the  words  "  perfect,"  "  complete,"  and  oth- 
ers of  similar   character  ;  because  the  lati- 
tude  of  meaning  to  be  assigned  to   such 
terms,  is  confessedly  various,  according  to 
the  connexion  in  which  they  are  found.     If 
words  and  phrases,  out  of  their  connexion, 
were  admitted  as  proof,  it  would  be  easy, 
not  only  to  establish  the  doctrine  of  sinless 
perfection,  considered  as  an  attainable  state, 
but  also  to  show  that  all  christians  are  per- 
fect, and  must  be  so  from  the  necessity  of 
the  case.     For  what  can  be  plainer   than 
the  language  of  the  Apostle  John,  when  he 
says,  "  whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not 
commit  sin" — nay  more,  "  his  seed  remain  - 
eth  in  him  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is 


52 


SANCTIFICATION 


born  of  God"?  If  this  passage,  taken  by 
itself,  were  susceptible  of  any  meaning,  it 
would  be,  that  regeneration  draws  after  it, 
not  merely  the  probability,  but  the  necessity 
of  entire  freedom  from  sin.  And,  as  none 
would  be  willing  to  receive  this  interpreta- 
tion, we  must  all  appreciate  the  importance 
of  understanding  words  and  phrases  in  their 
connexion,  and  of  ascertaining  the  mean- 
ing of  passages,  by  comparing  scripture 
with  scripture,  before  we  are  hasty  in  de- 
ciding upon  the  instruction  which  they  are 
intended  to  convey. 

It  must  be  conceded,  however,  that  the 
advocates  of  the  error  we  are  now  oppos- 
ing, do  not  depend  much  upon  proof  deriv- 
ed from  express  declarations  of  scripture. 
Their  mode  of  reaching  what  the  scriptures 
are  supposed  to  teach,  is  rather  by  infer- 
ence. And  the  main  facts  and  circumstan- 
ces, from  which  the  inference  is  drawn,  Ave 
proceed  to  notice. 

It  is  said  that  God  commands  us  to  be  per- 
fect; and  that  this  he  would  not  do,  unless 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  53 

perfection  in  this  life  were  attainable, — and 
attainable,  at  any  time,  at  which  the  com- 
mand exists.  But,  admitting  the  premise, 
in  this  argument,  does  the  conclusion  fol- 
low? God,  as  Ave  have  seen,  can  require 
nothing  less  than  perfection;  because  no- 
thing else  would  answer  to  the  demands  of 
his  immutable  law.  He  can  make  no 
abatement  here,  on  account  of  any  changes 
which  occur  in  our  condition  ;  for  this  would 
be  to  relinquish  his  rights  as  moral  Gover- 
nor, and  make  sin  and  holiness  matters  of 
mere  accident  and  circumstance.  We,  in 
common  with  all  rational  and  moral  crea- 
tures, are  therefore  required  to  yield  the 
perfect  obedience  which  his  law  demands. 
But  to  say,  that,  by  us  in  our  fallen  state, 
such  perfection  may  at  any  moment  be  at- 
tained— to  say  that  a  creature,  who  is  radi- 
cally imperfect,  whose  moral  constitution  is 
diseased,  defiled,  and  debilitated  by  sin, 
who  is  "  without  strength"  and  "  compass- 
ed with  infirmity,"  whose  "  whole  head  is 
sick  and  whose  whole  heart  is  faint,"  and 


5 


-54  SAXCTIFICATIOX 

in  whom  "  there  is  no  soundness  from  the 
sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  head,  but 
wounds  and  bruises  and  putrifying  sores" — 
to  say  that  such  a  creature  may  start,  at 
will,  from  his  death  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
into  a  state  of  immaculate  purity,  is  to  utter 
what  a  reflecting  person  can  hardly  be  sup- 
posed to  believe.  And  yet,  this  is  the  ab- 
surdity to  which  the  argument  in  question 
would  conduct  us.  It  may  be  briefly  stat- 
ed, in  the  following  manner:  God  com- 
mands us,  now,  and  at  all  times,  to  be  per- 
fect— but  he  would  not  command  that, 
which  may  not  be  done — therefore  perfec- 
tion is,  to  us,  at  this  moment,  an  attainable 
state.  To  substitute  some  future  day,  for 
the  present  moment,  might  seem  to  abate 
the  absurdity  a  little ;  but  it  would  not  es- 
sentially alter  its  nature.  The  reasoning  is, 
that  the  existence  of  a  command  implies  the 
practibility  of  the  thing  commanded;  and, 
as  there  is  no  time  at  which  the  command 
to  be  berfect  does  not  exist,  so  there  is  no 
time  at  which  an  individual  may  not  yield 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  55 

obedience  to   the   last  tittle  of  what  it  re- 
quires. 

If  it  should  be  said,  that,  although  we 
cannot  rise  to  a  state  of  perfect  obedience 
of  ourselves,  yet,  if  Ave  ask  it  aright,  God 
will  bestow  the  blessing  upon  us ;  I  answer, 
that  this  must  depend  altogether  upon  what, 
in  relation  to  this  point,  he  has  promised  to 
do.  All  that  he  has  promised,  he  will  un- 
doubtedly perform;  and,  if  there  is  a  pas- 
sage in  the  Bible  which  contains  the  prom- 
ise of  entire  sanctification  in  this  life,  I  ac- 
knowledge that  the  whole  controversy  is 
thereby  decided.  But  where  is  such  a  pas- 
sage to  be  found?  As  an  example  of  the 
class  of  passages  on  which  the  main  reliance 
is  placed,  we  are  referred  to  the  language  of 
God  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  when  he  says : 
"Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon 
you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean ;  from  all  your 
filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols  will  I 
cleanse  you."  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25.  We  are 
also  referred  to  Deut.  xxx.  6:  "And  the 
Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise  thy  heart, 


56  sanxtification 

and  the  heart  of  thy  seed,  to  love  the  Lord 
thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul," — and  to  Jer.  1.  20:  "In  those 
days,  and  at  that  time,  saith  the  Lord,  the 
iniquity  of  Israel  shall  be  sought  for,  and 
there  shall  be  none,  and  the  sins  of  Judah, 
and  they  shall  not  be  found" 

On  these  passages,  I  remark,  in  the  first 
place,  that  the  bare  circumstance  of  going  so 
far  back  for  the  main  proof,  on  such  a  point 
as  this,  is  of  itself  suspicious.  I  have  often 
observed,  that  new  forms  of  error  are  apt  to 
shun  the  light  of  the  New  Testament,  and  es- 
tablish themselves  behind  words  and  phra- 
ses, which  occur  in  the  more  enigmatical. 
and  therefore  doubtful  language  of  the  Old. 
If  there  are  promises  of  entire  sanctification 
in  this  life,  in  any  part  of  the  Bible,  where 
may  we  expect  to  find  them,  in  the  greatest 
number  and  variety  ?  Is  it  in  the  prophetic 
and  figurative  language  of  the  Prophets  ? 
Or  is  it  in  the  plainer  statements  of  our  Sav- 
iour and  his  Apostles  ?  Is  not  the  doctrine, 
in  the  view  of  its  friends,  an  especial  devel- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  61 

opement  and  blessing  of  the  New  Cove- 
nant ?  And  is  it  not,  under  the  effusion  of 
the  Spirit  "in  the  latter  days,"  that  they  ex- 
pect it  to  be  most  extensively  realized  ?  In 
short,  if  it  filled  the  eyes  of  those  who  lived 
under  a  darker  dispensation,  may  we  not 
expect  to  hear  of  it,  very  often,  and  without 
a  figure,  from  those  who  could  say,  "the 
darkness  is  past  and  the  true  light  now  shin- 
eth  ?  "  Yet,  in  referring  to  a  list  of  promises, 
drawn  by  the  hand  of  a  professed  advocate 
of  the  doctrine,  I  find,  out  of  five  passages 
produced,  four  from  the  prophetic  parts  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  only  one  from  the 
New,  while  the  one  from  the  New  does  not 
contain  a  promise,  but  only  a  prayer,  which 
is  supposed  to  involve  a  promise.  I  submit 
to  the  candid  reader,  whether  this  is  not  a 
virtual  acknowledgement,  that  promises  of 
the  kind  referred  to  are  few  in  number  and 
difficult  to  be  found. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  if  we  grant,  that 
the  passages  quoted  above  do  relate  to  all 
believers,  and  are  to  be  understood  in  the 


58  SANCT1FICATION 

most  unrestricted  sense,  as  applicable  to 
their  condition  in  the  present  life,  then  they 
will  prove  nothing,  by  proving  too  much. 
The  promises  which  they  contain,  it  will 
be  seen,  are  absolute  in  their  terms,  and 
general  as  to  the  persons  to  whom  they 
are  addressed.  The  veracity  of  the  Prom- 
iser  is  pledged  for  their  fulfillment ;  and 
what  they  contemplate  in  relation  to  one, 
they  contemplate  in  relation  to  all.  But 
that  all  Israel,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  are 
cleansed  from  all  their  filthiness  and  from 
all  their  idols  in  the  present  life,  is  no  more 
admitted  by  the  friends  of  the  error,  on 
which  we  are  now  remarking,  than  by  those 
who  oppose  it.  We  must  either  acknow- 
ledge, therefore,  that  the  promises  have 
failed,  and  that  God  is  unfaithful,  or  con- 
cede that  sinless  perfection  in  this  world  is 
not  the  precise  thing  to  which  these  prom- 
ises refer. 

In  the  third  place,  as  to  the  true  sense  of 
the  passages  in  question,  it  is  clearly  to  this 
amount, — that  sanctification  is  one  of  the 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  59 

great  blessings  of  the  "  new  covenant,"  in- 
to which  God  was  to  enter  with  the  seed  of 
Israel  and  Judah,  and  which  is  none  other 
than  the  covenant  of  grace — that  he  has  en- 
gaged to  confer  this  blessing  upon  all  with 
whom  this  covenant  is  established— and 
that  he  will  bestow  it,  in  no  imperfect  or 
partial  measure,  but  fully  and  perfectly,— 
to  such  a  degree,  that,  when  their  sins  are 
sought  for,  they  shall  not  be  found.  In  this 
view,  the  promises  which  they  contain,  are 
"  exceeding  great  and  precious";  they  se- 
cure to  every  believer,  beyond  all  peradven- 
ture  or  possibility  of  failure,  a  perfect  deliv- 
erance from  the  existence  and  pollution  of 
sin.  But,  as  to  the  time,  at  which  this  deliv- 
erance is  to  be  consummated,  they  contain 
no  specification,  and  express  no  opinion. 
They  are  just  as  consistent  with  the  views  of 
those,  who  suppose  that  sanctification  is  nev- 
er entire  in  the  present  life,  as  with  the  views 
of  those  who  believe  that  it  is.  Nor  are  there 
any  promises  in  the  Bible,  relating  to  this 
subject,  to  which  the  same  remark  will  not 


60  SANCTIFICATION 

apply.  There  are  many,  indeed,  which 
contemplate  the  perfect  holiness  of  believ- 
ers, but  it  is  of  believers  in  common,  and 
without  any  limitation  to  this  world  as  the 
time  and  place.  The  work  is  begun  here, 
and  carried  on,  under  different  circumstan- 
ces, as  well  as  with  various  degrees  of  ra- 
pidity. Ere  long  it  will  be  completed;  but, 
that  any  are  to  realize  this  completion,  dur- 
ing the  present  life,  is  more  than  any  prom- 
ise of  God  has  authorized  us  to  expect. 

But,  again;  it  is  said,  that  the  attainable- 
ness  of  the  state  in  question  may  be  infer- 
red, from  the  abundant  provision,  which  is 
made  in  the  Gospel,  for  the  sanctification 
of  those  who  embrace  it.  The  provision, 
it  is  argued,  is  "  perfect  and  entire,  wanting 
nothing"  ;  and,  this  being  the  case,  it  is  sup- 
posed, that  a  proper  iise  of  such  provision 
will  infallibly  lead  to  the  desired  result. — 
But  what  are  we  to  understand  here  by  the 
word  provision  ?  There  are  only  two  things, 
in  relation  to  sanctification,  to  which  it  can 
be  supposed  to  refer ;  and  these  are,   the 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  61 

agent  who  does  the  work,   and  the  means 
which  are  employed  in  carrying  it  on.   Both 
these  are  necessary,  but  in  different  senses. 
The  agent  by  whose  efficiency  the  work  is 
commenced,  carried  on,  and  completed,  is 
necessary  in  the   absolute  sense;  because, 
without  such  an  agent,  it  could  not  be  done. 
But  means  are  necessary,  only  as  a  part  of 
the  prescribed   and   appointed   plan.     We 
could  conceive  of  the  work,  as  done  with- 
out them;  but  they  are   instituted,   as  the 
way  in  which   we  are  to  expect  it,  under 
ordinary   circumstances,   to  be   performed. 
Now,  so  far  as  the  provision  in  question  is 
a  mere  provision  of  means,  it  will   not  be 
contended,  that  any  thing  certain  can  be  in- 
ferred, as  to  the  progress  of  the  work,  and 
the   time   of  its  completion.       The  means 
may  exist,  and  be  known,  without  being  ap- 
plied in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the   end; 
they  are  nothing  in  themselves,  and  become 
effectual,   only  as  they  are   overruled  and 
blessed. — And   again,  if  the   provision   be 
supposed  to   refer  to   the  efficient  Agent  in 
6 


62  SANCTIFICATION 

sanctification,  then  Ave  say,  that,  while  the 
provision  of  the  Gospel  is  abundant — while 
the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  sent  into  the  world 
for  this  purpose,  is  fully  able  to  accomplish 
the  work — it  is  no  legitimate  inference  from 
this  to  affirm,  that  he  will  bring  it  to  perfec- 
tion during  the  present  life.  Whether  he 
will  or  not,  must  depend  altogether  upon 
himself.  And  therefore  the  question  re- 
turns :  Has  he  promised  in  any  part  of  his 
word,  that  he  will  bring  it  to  maturity  in  the 
present  state  ?  That  no  such  promise  can 
be  found,  we  have  already  shewn.  And, 
until  something  to  this  effect  is  produced, 
no  argument,  founded  on  the  provisions  of 
the  Gospel,  can  be  regarded  as  worthy  of 
farther  notice. 

Another  argument  for  entire  sanctifica- 
tion in  this  life,  is  attempted  to  be  derived 
from  the  prayers,  which  are  recorded  in 
Scripture, — prayers  in  which,  such  a  state 
is  evidently  the  matter  of  petition — and 
which  are  supposed  to  be  proper  for  all 
Christians,  when  praying  either  for  them- 


STATED  AIMD  DEFENDED.  63 

selves  or   others.      It  is  said,  for  instance, 


that  Epaphras  prayed,  on  behalf  of  the  Co- 
lossians,  that  they  might  "  stand  perfect  and 
complete  in  all  the  will  of  God" — that  Paul 
prayed  for  the  Hebrews,  that  the  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of 
the  everlasting  covenant,  would  make  them 
"perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will" — 
that  the  same  Apostle  said,  in  his  supplica- 
tions for  the  Thessalonians,  "the  very  God 
of  peace  sanctify  you  loholly :  and  I  pray 
God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be 
preserved  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ," — and  that  such  prayers 
would  not  have  been  offered  by  such  men, 
unless  the  thing  which  they  asked  had  been 
something  which  they  expected  to  receive. 
But,  in  this  statement  of  the  case,  while 
there  is  much  that  is  true,  as  well  as  plausi- 
ble, there  is  something  also  which  is  radi- 
cally fallacious.  In  reference  to  the  words 
" perfect"  and  "complete,"  as  occurring  in 
these  prayers,  I  might  repeat  the  remark  al- 
ready made,  that  no  decisive  proof  can  be 


64  SAXCTIFICATION 

derived  from  them.  But,  let  it  now  be 
granted,  that  prayers  for  perfection  in  holi- 
ness are  scriptural  and  proper.  That  they 
are  so,  all  Evangelical  Christians  admit.  It 
is  admitted,  too,  that  all  such  prayers,  if  of- 
fered in  sincerity,  will  be  answered.  But 
the  question  to  be  determined  is,  when  will 
they  be  answered  ?  Will  the  answer  come 
at  the  very  moment,  at  which  the  prayer  is 
offered  ?  will  it  come,  in  the  course  of  a 
day  ?  or  in  the  progress  of  a  year  ?  will  it 
come,  in  all  its  fullness,  at  any  other  speci- 
fied or  particular  time  ?  or  will  it  come, 
partly  at  one  time  and  partly  at  another — 
by  little  and  little — like  the  advance  of  veg- 
etation— like  the  going  forth  of  the  morn- 
ing— like  the  coming  of  the  rain  ?  The 
truth  is,  that  nothing  is  more  common,  than 
for  God  to  allow  long  spaces  to  intervene, 
between  the  offering  of  acceptable  prayers 
and  the  bestowment  of  the  answer.  How 
long  did  the  Patriarchs  and  Prophets  pray 
for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  before  the  an- 
swer was  received  ?  And,  since  the  opening 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  65 

of  the  Christian  dispensation,  as  well  as  be- 
fore, how  many  true  and  fervent  prayers 
have  been  offered  for  the  coming  of  the  Mil- 
lenium, which  is  still  in  prospect  ?  These 
prayers  are  heard,  and  will  be  answered. 
But  the  plans  of  God  are  not  like  the  plans 
of  men.  His  views  are  more  comprehen- 
sive ;  He  moves  in  a  wider  sphere  ;  and 
long  periods  of  time  are  occupied  in  bring- 
ing his  works  to  maturity.  But  what  ap- 
pears to  us  to  be  of  moment,  here,  is  noth- 
ing to  him.  "  One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as 
a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as 
one  day."  He  will  answer  the  prayers  of 
his  people,  in  his  own  time  ;  but  he  will 
answer  them  in  such  a  way,  as  to  make 
them  know,  that  he  is  a  sovereign  in  the  se- 
lection of  the  time,  as  well  as  in  the  bestow- 
ment  of  the  gift.  In  their  present  experience, 
in  relation  to  this  point,  there  is  great  varie- 
ty. There  are  some  cases,  in  which  he  con- 
fers blessings  upon  them  before  they  pray, — 
there  are  others,  in  which  he  answers  them, 
at  the  very  time,  at  which  they  are  speak* 
6* 


66  SAXCTIFICATIOX 

ing, — there  are  others,  again,  in  which  he 
declines  giving  them  what  they  ask,  and  be- 
stows upon  them  something  else,  which  is 
far  better, — and  there  are  still  others,  in 
which  he  begins  to  answer  them  at  once,  but 
occupies  a  considerable  portion  of  time  in 
doing  all  that  he  intends.  The  last  of  these, 
is  the  course  which  he  is  now  pursuing,  in 
respect  to  the  prayers  of  true  Christians  for 
the  universal  diffusion  of  the  Gospel.  He 
has  begun  to  answer  them  ;  but  "the  set 
time"  for  answering  them  fully,  has  not  yet 
arrived.  And  thus  it  is,  in  respect  to  their 
prayers  for  entire  holiness,  as  offered  either 
for  themselves  or  others.  They  are  not  on- 
ly heard,  but  their  desires  are  fulfilled  in 
part.  The  work  has  been  commenced  and 
is  going  forward.  The  period  of  the  ful- 
fillment is  in  progress;  but  "the  time  of 
the  end"  is  yet  to  come.  They  are  enabled, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  more  and  more  to  die 
unto  sin  and  live  unto  righteousness.  And, 
ere  long,  their  triumph  over  sin  and  its  in- 
fluences will  be  complete.     But,  that  this 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  67 

will  occur,  the  next  moment,  during  the 
next  day,  in  the  course  of  a  year,  or  at  any 
point  short  of  the  termination  of  the  present 
life,  we  are  no  where  authorized  to  affirm. 
If  the  minds  of  any  should  still  labour,  in 
vieAV  of  the  very  strong  language,  which  is 
used  by  Paul  in  his  prayer  for  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  let  them  attend  for  a  moment  to  a 
critical  examination  of  its  meaning.  It  re- 
presents him,  as  asking,  not  only  that  God 
would  sanctify  them  wholly,  but  that  their 
whole  soul,  body,  and  spirit  might  be  pre- 
served blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  to  be  boubt- 
ed,  that  this  language  is  capable  of  being  so 
interpreted  as  to  make  it  express  his  desire, 
that  they  might,  in  the  first  place,  be  brought 
into  a  state  of  perfect  sanctification,  and 
then  be  kept  in  that  state  until  the  coming  of 
the  Saviour  to  remove  them  at  death.  But 
the  difficulty  attending  this  interpretation, 
to  the  advocate  of  Perfection,  is,  that,  if  ad- 
mitted to  be  true,  it  proves  too  much.  In 
words   immediately   following  the   prayer. 


68  SANCTIFICATION 

the  Apostle  adds,  "  Faithful  is  he  that  call- 
eth  you.  who  also  mill  do  it."  This  was 
an  absolute  and  unconditional  promise,  in 
which  the  faithfullness  of  God  was  pledged, 
in  the  most  formal  and  solemn  manner,  for 
the  bestowment  of  what  the  prayer  contem- 
plated upon  all  those  on  whose  behalf  it 
was  offered.  "  Faithful  is  he  that  calleth 
you,  who  also  will  do  it."  There  could 
be  no  failure,  in  the  case  of  any  one  of 
their  number  whom  God  had  effectually 
called ;  so  that,  if  sinless  perfection  in  this 
world  was  the  thing  which  the  prayer  con- 
templated, it  follows  that  this  perfection  was 
attained  by  all  the  true  followers  of  Christ  in 
Thessalonica, — which  is  more  than  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  doctrine  themselves  would  be 
willing  to  admit. 

The  truth  undoubtedly  is,  that,  while  the 
Apostle  prays,  in  the  first  clause  of  this  pas- 
sage, for  the  entire  sanctification  of  those  to 
whom  he  wrote,  without  any  limitation  as 
to  time,  he  prays,  in  the  second  clause,  for 
their  preservation  in  a  state  of  justification, 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  69 

np  to  a  point  of  time  which  he  specifies. 
He  uses  the  word  "  blameless,"  not  as  op- 
posed to  a  state  of  pollution  but  as  opposed 
to  a  state  of  condemnation.  Their  whole 
soul  and  body  and  spirit,  before  their  con- 
version, had  been  under  the  condemning 
sentence  of  the  divine  law.  But,  having 
embraced  the  Gospel,  they  were  pardoned 
— their  liability  to  punishment  was  remov- 
ed— they  had  passed,  in  this  sense,  from 
death  unto  life.  And  now,  while  he  prays 
that  their  sanctification  may  be  carried  on 
and  completed,  he  also  prays  that  they  may 
be  kept  in  their  pardoned  and  justified  state 
until  the  arrival  of  the  great  day  of  acquit- 
tal— when  they  are  to  be  brought  into  the 
presence  of  the  Universal  Judge,  to  be 
openly  accepted  and  acknowledged  as  his, 
and  invited  to  take  possession  of  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  them  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world. 

We  cannot  accept  it  as  true,  therefore, 
that  the  attainableness  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion can  be  fairly  inferred,  either  from  the 


70  SANCTIFICATION 

commands,  the  promises,  the  provisions  of 
the  Gospel,  or  from  any  of  the  prayers 
which  are  there  recorded.  And,  if  the  Bi- 
ble nses  language,  in  any  other  relation, 
from  which  it  is  pretended  that  such  an  in- 
ference may  be  drawn,  I  am  not  aware  of 
its  existence. — I  pass,  therefore,  to  shew, 

III.  That  to  suppose  the  state  in  question 
to  be  attainable,  would  be  to  suppose  that, 
which  would  disagree  with  a  variety  of 
known  and  acknowledged  facts. 

1.  It  is  a  fact,  that  the  strongest  represen- 
tation of  Christian  experience  and  prac- 
tice, which  are  found  in  the  Bible,  are  those 
which  expressly  exclude  the  notion  of  sinless 
perfection  in  this  life,  and  include  the  idea 
of  an  onward  movement  to  still  higher  de- 
grees of  proficiency  and  success.  You  may 
look  at  the  christian,  at  any  point,  at  which 
these  representations  place  him,  and  you 
will  find,  that,  instead  of  having  arrived  at 
the  mark,  he  is  only  pressing  towards  it; — 
he  is  not  standing  still,  but  advancing;  — 
his  attitude  and  motions   are  those  of  one, 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  71 

who  is  forgetting  things  which  are  behind 
and  reaching  forth  to  those  which  are  still 
before. 

Take,  in  illustration  of  this  thought,  the 
similitudes  employed  by  our  Saviour,  to 
shadow  forth  the  advancement  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  both  in  the  world  in  general, 
and  in  the  hearts  of  believers  in  particular. 
It  is  like  "  a  grain  of  mustard-seed"  which, 
when  planted,  is  the  smallest  of  all  seeds ; 
but  Avhich  increases,  by  an  onward  growth, 
until  it  becomes  so  large  as  to  accommo- 
date the  birds  of  the  air  with  nests. — Again, 
"  it  is  like  leaven,  which  a  woman  took  and 
hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,"  and  which 
diffused  its  influence,  by  a  gradual  progress, 
from  one  part  of  the  general  mass  to  anoth- 
er, until  the  whole  was  leavened. — And, 
once  more,  it  is  like  any  of  the  ordinary 
seeds,  which  are  cast  into  the  ground,  with 
a  view  to  the  raising  of  a  crop.  They  bring 
forth,  not  by  an  instantaneous,  or  very 
speedy  production,  but  "  first  the  blade, 
then  the  ear,  and,  after  that,  the  full  corn  in 


72  SANCTIFICATIOK 

in  the  ear."  And,  in  regard  to  this  latter 
similitude,  it  is  especially  in  point  to  remark, 
that  the  Author  of  the  parable  interposes  the 
declaration,  that,  "  when  fruit  is  brought 
forth,  immediately  the  husbandman  putteth 
in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is  come." 
There  is  no  time  permitted  to  elapse,  be- 
tween the  ripening  and  the  in-gathering  of 
the  fruit.  The  one  event  follows  the  other, 
not  only  in  the  order  of  nature,  but  without 
an  interval.  And  thus,  the  Great  Teacher 
would  have  us  to  understand,  it  will  ever  be 
in  the  kingdom  of  grace.  When  the  plants 
of  righteousness  have  grown  to  maturity, 
they  will  no  longer  be  permitted  to  stand  in 
the  open  field  of  the  present  world.  The 
purpose  of  their  growth,  here,  will  then  be 
answered;  and,  without  any  farther  delay, 
they  will  be  gathered  into  the  garner  of 
God. 

But,  there  are  other  figurative  represen- 
tations of  the  christian  life,  than  those  which 
were  employed  by  our  Saviour.  "  The 
path  of  the  just,"  says  Solomon,   "  is  as  the 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  73 

shining  lights  which  shineth  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day."  And  what  does  this 
imply,  but  a  continued  progression,  up  to 
the  very  time  at  which  the  perfect  day  is 
ushered  in  ?  But,  surely,  "  the  perfect  day" 
is  not  realized  in  this  world  of  comparative 
darkness  and  misery !  It  is  certainly,  not 
here,  that  the  shades  are  all  dispersed,  and 
the  full  tide  of  Divine  light  and  glory  is 
poured  upon  the  soul!  For  the  consum- 
mation, intended  by  this  image,  Ave  must 
wait,  until  we  reach  the  threshold  of  eterni- 
ty— until  we  have  passed  the  Jordan  of 
death — until  we  have  fallen  asleep,  as  to 
this  world,  and  opened  our  eyes  upon  the 
brighter  visions  of  another.  And,  if  this  is 
so,  it  follows,  that,  up  to  the  moment  of  this 
important  change,  the  light  of  our  christian 
course  is  expected  to  shine  with  mcreasina- 
brightness : — There  is  no  point  at  which  we 
are  permitted  to  stop — no  measure  of  at- 
tainment beyond  which  we  are  not  expected 
to  go. 


74  SANCTIFICATION 

The  same  idea  attaches  to  the  figures  of 
christian  experience,  which  are  drawn  from 
the  ideas  of  a  warfare^  a  race,  a  pilgrimage. 
These  are  all  constructed  upon  the  supposi- 
tion of  an  onward  movement.  And,  where 
the  line  of  this  movement  terminates,  there 
the  christian  life  ends  and  the  results  are 
exhibited.  As  soon  as  the  warfare  termi- 
nates in  victory  over  the  last  enemy,  the 
victor's  crown  is  awarded  and  placed  upon 
his  head ;  as  soon  as  the  racer  reaches  the 
goal,  or  comes  up  to  the  mark,  he  receives 
the  prize;  and,  as  soon  as  the  pilgrim  has 
passed  over  the  last  stage  of  his  journey,  his 
fatigues  are  all  over,  and  he  enters  upon  his 
rest.  The  very  nature  of  the  similitudes  is 
such,  as  to  forbid  the  supposition,  that, 
when  the  christian  has  arrived  at  perfection, 
he  will  be  kept  any  longer  from  the  posses- 
sion and  enjoyment  of  his  reward. 

And  if,  from  the  figurative  language  of 
the  Bible,  we  go  to  its  plainer  and  more 
simple  statements,  what  do  we  hear  ?  Do 
we  hear  the  note  of  congratulation  at  hav- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  75 

ing  "already  attained,"  or  at  being  "al- 
ready perfect"?  Are  christians  ever  ad- 
dressed, as  those  who  may  be  supposed  to 
have  received  the  blessing  of  entire  sancti- 
fication  ?  Are  they  invited,  to  turn  around 
and  rejoice  over  the  dying  struggles  of  their 
last  enemy,  and  to  lay  aside  their  armor, 
because  the  war  is  ended?  Or  are  their 
ears  saluted,  by  the  never-ceasing  return 
of  exhortations  and  commands,  to  be  up 
and  doing,  to  walk  circumspectly,  to  re- 
deem the  time,  to  work  out  their  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling,  to  grow  in  grace, 
to  follow  holiness,  and  to  abound  more  and 
more  in  love  and  good  works.  There  is  no 
degree  of  proficiency,  in  the  divine  life,  be- 
yond which  these  injunctions  are  not  reiter- 
ated and  pressed.  They  are  addressed,  in 
common,  to  the  whole  christian  family. 
And,  if  there  be  a  class  of  persons,  to  whom 
they  do  not  apply,  they  are  a  class,  to  whom 
no  place  is  assigned  in  the  sacred  writ- 
ings— with  whom  inspired  men  had  formed 
no   acquaintance — and   to    whom  none   of 


76  SANCTIFICATION 

their  counsels  and  exhortations  were  di- 
rected. 

2.  It  is  a  fact,  that  there  is  no  degree  of 
piety  or  holy  living,  in  this  world,  beyond 
which,  Christians  are  exempted  from  afflic- 
tions or  trials;  such  exemption,  is  neither 
contemplated  in  the  word  of  God,  nor  re- 
alized in  actual  experience  ;  and  yet,  no- 
thing short  of  this,  would  be  suitable  to  a 
state  of  entire  sanctification. 

The  only  revealed  purpose  of  affliction, 
in  the  case  of  believers,  is  to  promote  their 
sanctification.  The  Lord  '-'doth  not  afflict 
willingly,  or  grieve  the  children  of  men," 
but  "for  our  profit,  that  we  might  be^ par- 
takers of  his  holiness."  And,  as  to  the  uni- 
versal and  unceasing  application  of  this 
means  of  discipline,  an  Apostle  remarks — 
"Whoin  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and 
scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth.  If 
ye  endure  chastening,  God  dealeth  with  you 
as  with  sons;  for  what  son  is  he,  whom  the 
father  chasteneth  not  ?  But  if  ye  be  without 
chastisement,   whereof    all   are    partakers, 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  77 

then  are  ye  bastards  and  not  sons."  "  As 
many  as  I  love,"  says  the  exalted  Saviour, 
"  I  rebuke  and  chasten." 

And  who  doubts,  that  the  fact,  as  thus 
stated,  is  a  fair  representation  of  what  oc- 
curs in  the  life  of  every  christian,  up  to  the 
moment  of  his  release  from  the  body  ?  For 
where  is  the  "son"  to  be  found,  whom  the 
father  "ehasteneth  not,"  and  whom  he 
does  not  continue  to  chasten  as  long  as  he 
lives?  We  have  never  seen  him,  in  our 
day ;  nor  is  there  any  allusion  to  him,  in 
the  records  of  the  past.  "We,  that  are  in 
this  tabernacle,  do  groan,  being  burden- 
ed"— "  We,  who  have  the  first  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  even  Ave  ourselves,  groan  within  our- 
selves." All  believers,  without  regard  to 
the  degrees  of  their  sanctification,  are  thus 
affected.  They  groan  under  the  pressure, 
which  is  still  upon  them,  in  the  trial  of  their 
faith.  "Our  light  affliction,"  is  a  phrase, 
which  they  have  frequent  occasion  to  pro- 
nounce;   "the   sufferings   of  this    present 


78  BANCTIFICATION 

time,"   are  things  with  which  they  have  a 
daily  and  an  intimate  acquaintance. 

Here,  then,  is  a  chain  of  truths,  insepara- 
bly connected;  and,  by  necessity,  leading 
to  the  conclusion,  that  there  is  no  sinless 
perfection  in  the  present  world.  All  chris- 
tians are  subjected,  while  here,  to  chastise- 
ments ; — All  chastisements,  are  from  the 
hand  of  God  ; — The  only  present  object 
which  God  has  in  view,  in  chastising  his 
people,  is  to  make  them  more  holy ; — He 
cannot  be  supposed  to  chastise  them  "  will- 
ingly," or  without  a  reason  ; — And  hence  it 
follows,  that  none  of  their  number  are  so 
holy,  as  to  be  beyond  the  necessity  of  a  still 
higher  degree  of  sanctification.  The  argu- 
ment is  perfect,  and  the  conclusion  so  legit- 
imate, that  it  would  seem  impossible  for  a 
candid  mind  to  evade  it,  or  be  insensible  to 
its  force.  We  must  admit,  that  afflictions 
are  not  from  God ;  or  that  he  has  some 
other  object  in  view,  in  afflicting  his  people, 
than  to  increase  their  holiness  ;  or  else  ac- 
knowledge,  that  they  are   never   perfectly 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  79 

sanctified  during  "  the  time  of  their  sojourn- 
ing here." 

Besides  :  there  is  an  incongruity,  in  the 
very  thought,  of  a  perfectly  sinless  being  re- 
maining in  a  state  of  suffering.  All  suffer- 
ing, of  every  kind,  is  the  associate  of  sin. 
If  sin  had  not.  entered  the  world,  there 
would  have  been  no  affliction.  In  heaven , 
there  will  be  no  suffering,  because  there  will 
be  no  sin — In  hell,  all  will  be  misery,  be- 
cause sin  will  reign,  without  interruption  or 
restraint.  And  why  should  this  connexion 
between  sin  and  suffering  on  the  one  hand 
and  holiness  and  happiness  on  the  other, 
which  is  so  conspicuous  every  where  else, 
be  dispensed  with,  in  the  present  experience 
of  the  people  of  God  ?  If  they  are  without 
sin,  does  not  consistency  seem  to  require, 
that  they  should  be  exempted  from  the  evils, 
which  sin  produces  ?  If  the  heavenly  state 
is  begun  in  them,  as  to  its  holiness,  why  not, 
also,  as  to  its  happiness  ?  If  all  the  stains, 
which  sin  had  attached  to  their  nature,  have 
been  washed  away,  is  it  not  a  wrong  repre- 


80  SANCTIFIOATION 

sentation  of  their  character,  to  present  them, 
as  living  still,  upon  "  the  bread  of  adversity 
and  the  water  of  affliction"? 

3.  It  is  a  fact,  that  all  Christians  are  di- 
rected to  use  the  means  of  sanctification,  as 
long  as  they  live  ;  there  is  no  degree  of  ho- 
liness, in  this  life,  supposed,  in  the  word  of 
God,  to  be  attainable,  beyond  which,  they 
are  represented  as  needless. 

This  will  appear,  if  we  consider,  what 
the  means  of  sanctification  are,  and  attend 
to  the  style  and  obvious  import  of  those 
parts  of  Scripture,  in  which  their  use  is  en- 
joined. They  are  such  as  private  and  so- 
cial prayer  — the  reading  of  the  word  of 
God,  and  of  the  writings  of  good  and  gifted 
men,  which  have  a  tendency  to  illustrate 
and  apply  its  truths — attendance  upon  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  other 
public  ordinances  of  religion  -  christian  fel- 
lowship and  counsel,  together  with  mu- 
tual watchfulness,  admonition,  and  reproof. 
There  are  others,  indeed,  which  might  be 
mentioned ;    for  there  is  nothing,  to  which 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  81 

the  christian  stands  related,  which  is  not 
overruled  as  the  means  of  his  advancement 
in  holiness.  But  I  specify  these,  because 
they  are  means  in  the  direct  and  exclusive 
sense  ;  to  promote  our  sanctification,  is  the 
great  and  main  object  which  they  have  in 
view. 

Now  what  is  the  language,  in  which  the 
Scriptures  prescribe  and  enjoin  the  use  of 
these  means,  considered  as  to  the  extent  of 
its  application  ?  Is  it  guarded  by  any  re- 
strictions or  limitations,  as  if  there  might  be 
some  to  whom  it  could  not  apply  ?  In  di- 
recting christians,  to  meditate  and  pray,  to 
search  the  scriptures,  and  attend  upon  the 
ministry  of  the  word  and  ordinances,  does 
it  contemplate  a  point  of  time,  or  a  degree 
of  piety,  at  which  these  things  will  cease  to 
be  necessary  or  beneficial?  Does  it  ever 
allude  to  a  highly  favored  number,  either 
great  or  small,  who  may  stand  erect,  and 
thank  God  that  they  are  not  as  others,  while 
the  imperfect  around  them  are  bowing  the 
knee,  in  penitence,   confession,  and suppli- 


82  SANCTIFICATION 

cation  ?  Does  it  give  permission  to  some, 
to  stay  away  from  the  house  of  God,  while 
others  frequent  it,  or  to  turn  their  backs 
upon  the  table  of  the  Lord,  while  others 
are  gathering  around  it,  to  obtain  refresh- 
ment and  strength  ?  That  any  such  distinc- 
tion is  recognised  in  Scripture,  I  am  well 
aware,  is  neither  pretended  nor  supposed. 
It  is  granted,  on  all  hands,  that  what  is  said 
in  reference  to  the  means  of  growth  in  grace, 
is  said  to  all  believers,  without  distinction. 
And,  from  this  admitted  fact,  we  infer,  that 
the  sanctification  of  every  one  is  less  than 
perfect.  For  why  use  the  means,  if  the  end 
is  already  obtained  ?  Why  wait  upon  God, 
and  ask  him  to  renew  our  strength,  if  we 
have  already  arrived  at  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  perfect  men  ?  Why  pray  for  the 
Holy  Spirit,  if  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  in  us, 
is  already  completed  ?  And  why  look  into 
the  glass  of  the  written,  or  preached  word, 
if  we  are  already  changed  into  the  image, 
which  it  reflects,  and  have  put  on  the  high- 
est degree  of  the  glory,  which  that  image 
exhibits  ? 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  S3 

In  view  of  the  christian  life,  considered  as 
a  warfare,  believers  are  exhorted,  in  com- 
mon, to  "fight  the  good  fight  of  faith" — to 
"  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God" — to 
"  be  sober — "to  "  stand  fast"  and  quit 
themselves  like  men— having  their  "loins 
girt  about  with  truth" — their  "  feet  shod 
with  the  preparation  of  the  Gospel  of 
peace" — and  their  whole  persons  guarded, 
by  "  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God." 
And  do  these  sound  like  addresses  to  an 
army,  some  of  whom  have  fought  all  their 
battles,  have  conquered  all  their  enemies, 
have  placed  their  feet  upon  the  neck  of  their 
last  foe,  and  are  ready  to  begin  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  victory  ?  Or,  do  they  proceed 
upon  the  supposition,  that  the  war  is  still  in 
progress — that  the  armour  is  still  needed — 
and,  that  other  triumphs  over  the  foe,  are 
still  to  be  sought  ? 

4.   It  is  a  fact,  that,  in  the  present  world, 
there  are  none  who,  either  do,  or  can  arrive, 

at    a    PERFECT     KNOWLEDGE     OF     THE    TRUTH  ', 


84  SANCTIFICATION 

and  as  sanctification  is  through  the  truth, 
it  is  not  easy  to  see,  under  these  circum- 
stances, how  any  can  be  perfectly  holy. 

I  know,  indeed,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
promised,  as  a  guide  into  all  truth  ;  and,  so 
far  as  all  revealed  truth  is  concerned,  this 
promise  is  sure,  and  all  christians  have  rea- 
son to  pray  for  its  fulfillment,  in  faith  and 
hope.  But,  there  are  other  views  of  truth, 
than  those  which  are  yet  revealed,  which 
are  to  have  an  effect  upon  our  spiritual  con- 
dition. We  know  as  much  now,  as  is  ne- 
cessary to  answer  the  purposes  of  God,  in 
reference  to  our  existence  here  ;  and,  doubt- 
less, if  he  had  contemplated  our  perfect 
conformity  to  his  image  in  this  world,  he 
would  have  revealed  to  us  still  more.  But 
the  present  is,  to  us,  in  all  respects,  an  im- 
perfect state  ; — He  has  not  designed  it  to 
be  otherwise  ; — His  gracious  method  of  res- 
toring us  to  himself,  takes  effect  here,  but  is 
not  consummated  ; — what  we  enjoy  now, 
is  "  the  first  fruits" — "  the  harvest"  is  still 
in  prospect.     In  short,  his  plan  requires, 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  85 

that  earth  and  heaven,  instead  of  meeting 
and  blending,  should  be  kept  far  distant 
from  each  other,  in  our  conceptions.  And 
this  is  not  more  true,  in  any  respect,  than  in 
reference  to  the  extent  of  our  knowledge. 
In  the  comparisons  of  earth  with  heaven, 
which  are  drawn  in  scripture,  there  is  great 
prominence  given  to  this  consideration  ; — 
here,  "we  know  in  part" — "we  prophecy 
in  part" — "  we  see,  through  a  glass,  dark- 
ly"— "What  I  do,"  said  the  Saviour,  "thou 
knowest  not  now."  But,  in  heaven,  "that, 
which  is  perfect,"  will  have  come — "  that, 
which  is  in  part,  shall  be  done  away" — we 
shall  see,  "face  to  face,"  and  know,  even 
as,  also,  we  are  known.  Earth  is  a  place 
of  comparative  obscurity ;  but,  of  heaven, 
it  is  said — "there  shall  be  no  night  there" 
And,  that  the  perfection  of  our  know- 
ledge, in  heaven,  will  have  some  connexion 
with  our  perfect  conformity  to  the  image  of 
God,  is,  not  obscurely,  intimated,  by  an 
Apostle,  when  he  says — "  we  shall  be  like 
him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  The 
8 


86  SANCTIFICATION 

whole  force  of  this  passage  depends  upon 
the  supposition,  that  our  likeness  to  him, 
in  this  world,  is  not  complete.  It  is  a  pas- 
sage, too,  which  is  applicable  to  all  believ- 
ers, without  distinction.  It  states  a  general 
fact,  which  is  to  be  realized  in  the  experi- 
ence of  every  christian,  when  he  ceases  to 
walk  by  faith,  and  enters  the  region  of 
sight.  He  will,  then,  have  a  knowledge  of 
God  and  eternal  things,  which  will  be  the 
knowledge  of  an  eye-witness,  and  which 
will  altogether  surpass  the  measure  and  ac- 
curacy of  his  information  here.  And  this 
knowledge  will  have  an  assimilating  effect — 
it  will  produce  a  likeness,  between  him  and 
the  Divine  nature.  And  what  is  this,  but 
to  say,  in  other  language,  that  it  will  have 
the  effect  of  completing  his  sanctification  ? 
For  what  is  likeness  to  God,  but  perfection 
in  holiness  ? 

It  may  be  difficult,  indeed,  for  us,  to 
foresee  and  explain  the  manner ,  in  which, 
the  knowledge  of  heaven  will  produce  the 
effect,  which  is  thus  ascribed  to  it ;  but,  to 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED. 


87 


do  this,  is  not  necessary  to  our  present  pur- 
pose. It  were  easy  to  indulge  in  imagina- 
tion and  conjecture  ;  but,  where  revelation 
does  not  speak,  it  becomes  us  to  be  silent. 
All  that  concerns  us,  now,  is  a  simple  mat- 
ter of  fact ;  and,  in  this  view,  the  passage 
referred  to  is  conclusive.  It  makes  our 
perfect  likeness  to  God,  in  the  person  of 
his  Son,  depend  upon  a  measure  of  know- 
ledge, which  we  cannot  have,  until  we  "see 
him  as  he  is." 

5.  It  is  a  fact,  that,  while  Christians  re- 
main in  the  present  world,  they  will  have 
corruptible  bodies;  this  part  of  their  na- 
ture will  remain,  substantially,  as  it  was,  at 
the  commencement  of  their  christian  course ; 
and,  in  such  a  connexion,  it  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected, that  they  will  arrive  at  a  state  of 
entire  sanctification. 

The  union  between  the  body  and  the 
soul,  and  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  in- 
fluence, the  one  upon  the  other,  I  am  well 
aware,  are  intricate,  and,  in  many  respects, 
inexplicable  subjects.     The  fact  itself,  how- 


88  SANCTIFICATION 

ever,  that  their  reciprocal  influence  is  not 
only  real  and  great,  but  constant  and  neces- 
sary, all  will  admit.  And,  in  view  of  this 
influence,  as  recognized  in  scripture  and 
felt  in  the  experience  of  all,  I  cannot  doubt, 
that  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  as  followed 
by  its  resurrection,  is  one  of  the  appointed 
means  of  sanctification.  As  polluted  by 
sin,  it  is  like  the  leprous  house,  under  the 
law  of  Moses, — the  infection  has  extended, 
to  every  part, — the  "  stones,"  the  "tim- 
ber," and  the  "  mortar,"  are  all  defiled, — 
and  there  is  no  way  of  removing  the  evil, 
but  by  demolishing  the  entire  structure  ;  it 
must  be  taken  down,  and  carried  forth  "  out 
of  the  city,  into  an  unclean  place,"  before 
the  work  of  purification  will  be  complete. 
If  a  corruptible  body  were  consistent 
with  a  perfectly  sanctified  state  of  the  soul, 
in  this  world,  why  might  it  not  be  consist- 
ent with  the  same  state,  in  the  world  to 
come  ?  And  why,  on  this  supposition,  is  it 
necessary  that  believers  should  die  ?  Why 
are  they  not  removed  to  heaven,   as  they 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  89 

are  ?     All  that  they  need,  to  render   them 
perfectly  happy,  is  entire  deliverance  from 
the  infection  and  pollution  of  sin.      And,  if 
this  can  be  effected,  without  a  change  in  the 
body,  why  not  allow  it  to  remain  as  it  is  ? — 
If  it   should  be  said,    in  reply  to  this,    that 
"  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God,"   I  inquire:  Why?     Surely, 
not  on  account  of  any  natural  impossibility, 
which  exists  in  the  case.      It  will  hardly  be 
contended,   that  such  a  material   structure 
as  the  human  body,  could  not  be  taken  to 
heaven,  and  dwell  there,  if  there  were  no- 
thins  about  it  inconsistent  with  a  state  of 
perfect  holiness.      It  might  be  immortal,  ac- 
cording to  its  present  structure,    as  well  as 
any  other,  if  such  were  the  will  of  God  con- 
cerning it.      It   might  be   exempted,   too, 
from  all  infirmity  and  suffering,  without  any 
radical  alteration,  in  its  form,  or  qualities. 
But,  the  truth  is,  that  it  cannot  go  to  heaven 
because  it  is  defiled — it  is  a  "  body  of  sin" 
. — and  must,  therefore,  be  "  sown  in  corrup- 
tion," that  it  may  be  "  raised  in  incorrnp- 


90  SAXCTIFICATIOX 

tion."  As  thus  renewed  and  purified,  by 
death,  it  will  be  a  fit  companion  for  the 
sanctified  spirit ;  the  whole  nature  will,  then, 
be  entirely  cleansed ;  and  nothing  will  re- 
main, to  overcloud  the  prospect  of  pure, 
perfect,  and  everlasting  enjoyment. 

The  idea  of  a  perfectly  holy  spirit,  re- 
maining in  connexion  with  a  corruptible 
body,  would  present  an  incongruity,  to 
which  no  parallel  could  be  found  in  any  of 
the  other  arrangements,  or  works  of  God. 
It  is  not  only  true,  that  his  plans  are  wise, 
but  also,  that  their  wisdom  can  be  generally 
seen,  and  appreciated,  by  the  candid  and 
careful  observer.  But,  who  could  regard  it 
as  fit  or  reasonable,  that,  after  the  souls  of 
believers  are  delivered  from  the  last  taint  of 
corruption,  they  should  still  be  confined  to 
such  a  body  as  this  ?  As  an  Apostle  de- 
scribes it,  it  is  a  "vile"  body — a  body,  pos- 
sessing many  properties,  in  view  of  which, 
we  have  reason  to  be  humbled — a  body, 
distinguished  by  great  infirmity,  and  weak- 
ness— easily  brought  into  a  state  of  languor 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  91 

and  fatigue — subject  to  innumerable  ills  and 
distresses — furnishing  many  occasions  of 
temptation  to  sin — and  acting  as  a  constant 
weight,  upon  the  upward  tendencies,  and 
movements  of  the  soul.  Surely,  when  the 
work  of  sanctification  upon  the  soul  is  done, 
God  will  provide  it  with  a  better  place  of 
residence  than  this.  It  cannot  be,  that  he 
will  leave  it,  any  longer,  in  such  a  situa- 
tion— to  "  groan,  being  burdened" — to  en- 
dure the  lustings  of  the  flesh — to  be  annoyed 
by  the  motions  of  sin,  which  proceed  from 
the  members — and  to  pass  through  succes- 
sive stages  and  scenes,  of  disease  and  pain. 
Instead  of  this,  it  is  far  more  consistent,  to 
believe,  that,  when  perfectly  delivered  from 
sin,  it  will  be  emancipated  at  once — will 
put  off  the  tabernacle^  in  which  it  has  lived, 
while  sojourning  in  this  vale  of  tears — and 
rise  to  the  mount,  in  which  it  is  to  be  "  clo- 
thed upon"  with  another  and  a  better 
*l  house,  which  is  from  heaven." 

If  it  should  occur  here,  in  the  form  of  an 
objection  to  the  view  just  presented,  that 


92  SAXCTIFICATION 

Jesus  Christ  was  perfectly  holy,  while  he 
tabernacled  in  a  human  body,  it  is  only  ne- 
cessary to  say,  that  the  cases  are  not  paral- 
lel ;  because  his  body  was  not  polluted  by 
sin.  It  was  not  sinful  flesh,  but  only  "  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh,"  in  which  he  was 
made.  God  did  not  suffer  his  "Holy  One 
to  see  corruption."  He  assumed  our  na- 
ture, as  far  as  this  could  be  done,  "without 
sin";  and,  that  a  difference  might  exist  be- 
tween his  nature  and  ours,  in  respect  to  sin, 
he  was  not  the  offspring  of  man  by  ordinary 
generation.  The  circumstances  attending 
his  introduction  into  the  world,  were  pecu- 
liar. He  came  on  a  special  visitation  of 
grace  and  good- will  to  men  ;  and  he  came 
in  such  a  way,  as  to  bear  their  griefs  and 
carry  their  sorrows,  without  participating, 
personally,  in  any  of  their  corruptions,  ei- 
ther in  body  or  mind. 


In  addition  to  the  facts,  thus  far  enume- 
rated, there  are   others  which  might  be  in- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  93 

trodnced ;  but  these  are   sufficient  for   our 
present   purpose.      They   are   facts,   which 
appear  to  us,  to  be  incompatible  with  per- 
fect freedom  from  sin.     And  we  therefore 
conclude,  that  entire  sanctification  in  this 
life,  is  not  contemplated,   as  an  attainable 
state,  in  the  scheme  of  human  redemption. 
The  work  of  renewing  our  fallen  nature  to 
holiness,  is  commenced  and  continued  here, 
but  not   completed.      The   period   through 
which  its  performance  extends,  is  from  the 
moment  of  regeneration,  "till  the  day  of 
Jesus  Christ."     It  is  not  the  plan  or   pur- 
pose of  God,  to  bring  it  to  maturity  sooner. 
And,  accordingly,  no  instance  of  such  ma- 
turity can  be  produced  from  the  records  of 
the  past — there  is   no  reason  for  expecting 
it  to  be  derived  from  any  intimations  which 
are  contained  in  Scripture — and  the  incon- 
gruity between  it  and  other  acknowledged 
facts,  would,  be  such,  as  to  invade,  and,  in 
respect  to  this  point,  to  destroy,  the  analogy 
of  faith. 


95 


PART    III. 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 

It  is  strongly  objected,  by  the  advocates 
of  Perfection,  to  the  view  presented  in  this 
discussion,  that  its  practical  tendencies  can- 
not be  otherwise  than  injurious — that  it 
must  have  the  effect,  of  lowering  the  stand- 
ard of  piety,  of  cutting  the  nerves  of  exer- 
tion, and  of  producing  a  dwarfish  and  doubt- 
ful state  of  religion  in  the  church,  instead  of 
those  high  and  bright  illustrations  of  the 
power  of  godliness,  which  all  should  desire 
to  see.  And,  if  the  ground,  taken  in  this 
objection,  were  tenable — if  it  could  be 
shewn,  either  from  facts  in  the  case,  or  by 
other  sufficient  reasons,  that  the  doctrine 
here  maintained,  is  less  favorable  to  holy 
living,  than  the  principles  of  those  who  op- 


96 


SAN'CTIFICATION 


pose  it — we  should  feel  bound,  to  surrender 
our  position,  and  acknowledge  our  mistake. 
The  test,  by  which,  we  desire  every  article 
of  our  faith  to  be  tried,  is  that  furnished  by 
our  Saviour,  when  he  says,  "  by  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them."  This  is  the  language 
of  reason,  as  well  as  of  revelation ;  and,  by 
its  requirements,  let  every  doctrine  either 
stand  or  fall. 

What,  then,  are  the  facts,  as  to  the  prac- 
tical effect  of  the  doctrine,  maintained  in 
the  foregoing  discussion  ? 

I  reply — to  go  no  farther  back — that,  be- 
yond dispute,  nearly  all  the  active  piety, 
that  has  glorified  God  and  blessed  the 
world,  since  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation, 
has  been  the  piety  of  those  by  whom  this 
doctrine  has  been  held.  It  was  held  by 
Luther  and  Melancthon — the  latter  of 
whom,  with  the  approbation  of  the  former, 
drew  up  a  formal  protest,  against  the  views 
of  those,  who  maintain  "that  a  sinless  per- 
fection in  this  life,  is  attainable": — It  has 
been   the  doctrine,   too,   of  such   men   as 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  97 

Owen,  and  Baxter,  and  Whitfield,  and 
Brainerd,  and  Edwards,  and  Payson,  and 
a  thousand  others,  among  the  living  and  the 
dead,  whom  the  bare  suggestion  will  recall 
to  the  recollection  of  every  reader.  And 
who  were  these,  bnt  men  "  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy"? — men,  who,  by 
their  holy  lives  and  abundant  labors,  have 
left  an  impress  upon  the  Church  and  the 
world,  which  will  never  be  effaced  ? — men, 
whose  names  and  virtues  will  go  down  to 
the  latest  posterity,  as  affording  the  bright- 
est illustrations  of  the  power  of  Divine 
grace,  wThich  have  ever  been  furnished  ?  It 
may  serve  a  purpose,  to  say,  of  such  men, 
that  they  were  unacquainted  with  the  true 
secret  of  attaining  to  eminent  holiness — that 
because  they  despaired  of  perfection  in  this 
life-,  they  were  justly  chargeable  with  mak- 
ing u  void  the  law  of  God,"  by  their  "tra- 
ditions"— that  they  were  "  slumbering  in 
Antinomian  death,  or  struggling  in  legal 
bondage" — but  the  intelligent  Christian  will 
not  be  likely  to  follow  this  neiv  light,  in  pre- 
9 


98  SAXCTIFICATION 

ferenceto  the  light  of  their  illustrious  ex- 
ample. Their  record  is  not  only  on  high, 
but  in  the  affections  of  the  pious  on  earth. 
And  their  memory,  while  time  shall  last, 
will  be   "a  savour  of  life  unto  life." 

But,  while  the  holiest  and  most  efficient 
men,  whom  the  world  has  ever  seen,  have 
been  unbelievers  in  the  doctrine  of  perfec- 
tion, what  has  been  the  fact,  where  this  doc- 
trine has  prevailed  ?  That  many  eminent 
christians  have  held  the  doctrine  of  a  modi- 
fied perfection  is,  indeed,  true  ;  and  I  refer, 
in  this  remark,  especially,  to  the  '{ Christian 
Perfection"  of  Wesley,  and  others,  who 
have  entertained  the  same  views.  His  per- 
fection, as  he  himself  defines  it,  "  is  consis- 
tent with  infirmities", — with  "  ignorance," 
and  "mistakes", — with  "  thinking  wrong" 
and  "  doing  wrong."  In  reality,  therefore, 
it  is  not  perfection,  in  the  sense  of  entire 
conformity  to  the  law  of  God  ;  but  some- 
thing else,  to  which  the  word  perfection  is 
wrongly  applied.  Into  its  practical  effects, 
therefore,  we  stop  not  to  inquire — although 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  99 

it  would  be  easy  to  shew,  that,  modified 
and  guarded  as  it  is,  it  has  not  been  unpro- 
ductive of  evil.  But,  in  regard  to  perfec- 
tion, or  entire  sanctification,  as  implying 
sinless  obedience  to  the  moral  law  in  this 
life,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  affirming,  that, 
whereever  it  has  had  "  free  course,"  its 
moral  effects  have  been  bad.  It  prevailed 
extensively,  in  connexion  with  the  rise  and 
early  progress  of  Pelagianism,  in  the  fourth 
century : — It  appeared  among  the  first 
forms  of  fanaticism,  which  shewed  them- 
selves after  the  commencement  of  the  Refor- 
mation : — It  had  no  little  currency  in  Eng- 
land, during  the  seventeenth  century : — 
More  recently,  we  have  not  been  without 
examples  of  its  existence  and  prevalence, 
in  our  own  country,  at  different  times,  and 
in  different  places.  And,  whereever  it  has 
gone,  it  has  carried  with  it  a  blighting  in- 
fluence, upon  every  thing  which  is  "lovely" 
and  "  of  good  report."  It  has  led,  as  might 
naturally  be  expected,  to  the  neglect  of  all 
prayer,  whether   private,  social,  or  public  ; 


100  SANCTIFICATION 

for  what  has  the  individual  to  pray  for,  who 
is  already  perfect  ?  It  has  led  to  an  aban- 
donment of  the  means  of  grace,  in  general — 
to  a  partial  or  total  neglect  of  the  Sab- 
bath— and  to  great  indifference  towards  be- 
nevolent enterprizes  of  every  kind; — it  has 
engendered  a  censorious  and  denunciatory 
spirit,  and  been  accompanied  by  contempt 
for  the  rules  and  discipline  of  the  church. 
In  short,  it  is  the  language  of  all  history  and 
the  testimony  of  all  observation,  that,  where 
Perfectionism  prevails,  neither  the  sub- 
stance nor  the  form  of  religion  can  long  be 
expected  to  dwell. 

In  saying  this,  I  am  not  ignorant  of  the 
attempt  which  is  made,  to  distinguish,  be- 
tween the  Perfectionism,  which  has  produ- 
ced these  effects,  and  the  doctrine  of  entire 
sanctification,  as  advocated  by  some,  in 
our  country,  who  are  now  living.  It  is 
strenuously  maintained,  that  the  two  things 
are,  not  only  different  from  each  other,  but 
in  direct  opposition — having  nothing  in 
common.     But  this  is  made  out,  by  using 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED. 


101 


the  word  Perfectionism  in  a  technical  sense, 
and  applying  it,  gratuitously,  to  represent 
the  abuses,  to  which  we  have  just  referred. 
{  These  errors  and  disorders,'  they  say,  '  are 
Perfectionism:  but  our  doctrine  of  entire 
sanctification  is  a  different  thing.'  But 
wherein,  is  it  a  different  thing  ?  In  all,  that 
entitles  it  to  be  called  Perfection,  it  is  the 
same  thing.  It  feeds  the  mind  with  the  no- 
tion of  entire  freedom  from  sin ;  and  this  is, 
at  once,  the  essence  of  the  system,  and  the 
reason  of  its  danger.  Such  an  appeal,  to 
the  self-esteem  and  self-righteousness  of  our 
nature,  never  can  be  entertained,  without 
leading  to  disastrous  results.  Various  cir- 
cumstances  may  restrain,  or  delay  the  de- 
velopement,  for  a  while;  but,  ere  long,  it 
will  come,  with  all  the  evils  which  follow 
in  its  train. 

But,  without  dwelling,  longer,  upon  the 
facts  in  the  ease,  as  they  present  themselves 
in  the  history  of  the  past,  I  proceed  to  say, 
that  those  who  anticipate  better  effects  from 
the  doctrine  of  Perfection    than  from  the 


102  SANCTIFICATIOX 

common  doctrine  of  Sanctification,  reason 
falsely,  as  to  the  principles,  from  which 
these  effects  are  expected  to  proceed.  The 
question  is  asked,  for  instance:  "Who 
would  expect  an  army  to  fight,  with  ener- 
gy, under  the  impression  of  inevitable  de- 
feat" ?  And  this,  it  is  taken  for  granted,  is 
a  parallel  case  to  that  of  the  christian,  who 
entertains  no  hope  of  entire  sanctification 
in  the  present  life.  But,  is  it  so?  Has  he 
the  impression  of  inevitable  defeat,  because 
he  expects  the  war  to  be  somewhat  protract- 
ed ?  Does  he  lay  down  his  arms,  in  despair, 
because  he  believes  that  more  than  one  bat- 
tle is  to  be  fought  ?  Does  he  cease  from  the 
contest,  because  he  does  not  anticipate  a 
perfect  triumph,  until  the  "last  enemy" 
shall  "be  destroyed,"  which  "  is  death"  ? 
The  truth  is,  that,  on  his  own  principles,  he 
has  an  expectation  of  victory,  which  is  qual- 
ified by  no  peradventure ; — he  anticipates 
it,  with  unwavering  faith,  and  with  joyful 
hope  ; — it  is  as  certain  to  him,  as  the  love 
and   faithfulness   of  God    can  make  it ; — 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  103 

nay,  he  has  the  earnest  of  it,  in  his  present 
success ; — he  has  already  come  off  as  a 
conqueror  in  many  a  struggle  ; — he  is  pur- 
suing his  advantage  from  one  battle-field  to 
another ; — and,  he  has  no  doubt,  that  the 
time  is  near,  when  all  the  armies  of  the 
aliens  shall  be  put  to  flight, 

i:  And  death,  the  last  of  all  his  foes, 
Lie  vanquished  at  his  feet." 

So  far,  therefore,  as  the  certainty  of  suc- 
cess is  concerned,  he  has  the  same  reason 
to  persevere  and  be  active,  with  those  who 
anticipate  a  speedier  triumph. 

Again:  it  is  wrong,  in  principle,  to  say, 
that  the  hope  of  success,  in  order  to  be  an 
efficient  motive,  must  terminate  upon  ac- 
quisitions to  be  made  within  I  he  limits  of  the 
present  life.  This  is  neither  consistent  with 
Scripture,  nor  in  accordance  with  actual  ex- 
perience. The  hope  of  the  Apostles  and 
primitive  Christians,  was  a  hope,  which 
"entereth  into  that  within  the  veil" ;  and, 
this  was  the  reason  why  it  was  an  "  anchor 
to  the  soul."     It  tarried  upon  no  amount  of 


104  SAXCTIFICATIOX 

holiness  or  happiness  to  be  acquired  upon 
earth.  It  overlooked  all  the  scenes  of  this 
present  time,  and  seized  upon  the  perfection 
of  another  state.  It  transported  its  subjects 
beyond  the  region  where  sin  and  sorrow 
dwell,  and  brought  them  into  communion 
with  the  inhabitants  and  felicities  of  heaven. 
And  this  was  the  true  secret  of  its  animating 
and  sustaining  influence.  It  derived  its 
energy  from  the  importance  and  glory  of 
its  object;  and  this  was  something  entirely 
above  and  beyond  any  degrees  of  sanctifi- 
cation,  to  be  anticipated  here.  "  Every 
man,"  says  an  Apostle,  "  that  hath  this 
hope  in  him,  purifieth  himself."  Such  a 
hope  will  undoubtedly  sanctify  those  in 
whom  it  dwells ;  but  a  similar  influence  is 
never  ascribed  to  any  hope,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  be  realized  on  this  side  of  the 
grave. 

Moreover :  it  is  incorrect  to  assume,  that 
the  Christian  derives  his  strongest  impulses 
to  holy  living,  from  direct  meditations  upon 
his  prospect  of  success.      No  doubt,  he  has 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  105 

"  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  reward," 
both  here  and  hereafter  ;  and  yet,  his  expe- 
rience will  bear  me  out  in  saying,  that  his 
heart  is  never  assailed  by  more  irresistible 
motives  to  active  and  entire  consecration  to 
God,  than  when  his  mind  is  most  fully  oc- 
cupied by  other  considerations  than  those 
which  relate  immediately  to  himself.  "What 
was  it,  for  instance,  that  produced  and  nur- 
tured, that  engagedness  in  religion,  which 
rendered  the  Apostle  Paul  "  a  spectacle  to 
the  world"?  Men,  accustomed  to  judge  on 
common  principles,  could  not  understand 
him.  It  was  strange,  to  the  popular  appre- 
hension, that  a  man  should  sacrifice  his  per- 
sonal ease  and  worldly  interests,  to  such  a 
degree,  and  be  so  willing  to  encounter  per- 
secutions and  trials  of  every  sort.  And,  in 
what  did  the  true  secret  of  this  self-denial 
and  devotedness  consist  ?  In  what  direc- 
tion did  his  thoughts  lie,  when  he  felt  the 
influence  of  the  violent  motive  which  pro- 
duced these  wonderful  effects  ?  Was  he 
taken  up  with  reflections  on  the  degree  of 


106 


SANCTIFICATION 


proficiency  at  which  he  expected  to  arrive  ? 
Was  he  meditating  upon  what  was  likely,  in 
any  respect,  to  accrue  to  himself  ?  Or,  was 
he  transported,  for  the  time,  beyond  the  cir- 
cle of  his  personal  interests  and  relations, 
and  invested,  on  every  side,  by  the  over- 
whelming influence  of  another  motive  ?  Let 
him  answer,  in  his  own  language,  as  he 
does,  in  the  memorable  declaration — "  the 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  us !"  Here 
was  the  main-spring  of  his  activity — this 
was  the  secret  fire,  which  burned  within, 
and  kept  his  zeal  in  a  perpetual  flame. 
Standing,  with  his  face  towards  Calvary, 
with  his  eye  on  the  cross,  and  with  his  mind 
intent  upon  the  compassion  and  condescen- 
sion of  a  suffering  Saviour,  he  was  carried 
beyond  himself,  and  was  borne  away,  by 
the  impulse  of  a  mightier  and  more  gener- 
ous motive.  So  it  is,  in  all  the  higher  achieve- 
ments of  the  christian  life.  It  is  not,  by  sit- 
ting down  to  meditate  upon  the  prospect  of 
our  perfect  sanctification,  that  we  gather 
the  strongest  motives  to  the  pursuit  of  hoK- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  107 

ness.  Our  best  seasons,  both  of  feeling  and 
action,  are  those,  in  which  we  think  least  of 
ourselves,  and  most,  of  the  love  of  God,  of 
the  compassion  of  Christ,  of  the  claims  of 
gratitude  and  duty,  and  of  the  beauty  and 
excellency  of  holiness  itself.  We  are  not 
servants,  who  work  merely  for  wages,  but 
are  bound  to  our  employment,  by  love  and 
gratitude  to  the  master,  as  well  as  by  the 
happiness  we  find  in  the  service  itself.  "  We 
love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us" — his 
"thoughts"  are  "  precious"  to  us,  and,  if 
we  "  should  count  them,  they  are  more  in 
number  than  the  sand" — we  delight  in  his 
law — we  love  the  habitation  of  his  house — - 
we  take  pleasure  in  his  worship,  and  in  the 
fellowship  of  his  people — his  "yoke  is  easy" 
to  us,  and  his  "burden  light."  And,  in 
these  considerations,  are  contained  our  high- 
est inducements,  to  persevere  in  his  service, 
and  live  to  his  glory.  "  For  none  of  us  liv- 
eth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself; 
for  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord, 
and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord  ; 


108  SA  NOTIFICATION" 

whether  we  live,  therefore,  or   die,  we  are 
the  Lord's." 

Great  results  are  expected  from  the  doc- 
trine of  Perfection,  by  its  friends,  upon  the 
ground  of  the  high  standard  of  piety, 
which  it  is  supposed  to  present.  But,  the 
truth  is,  that  it  lowers  the  standard,  instead 
of  raising  it, — and  this  is  its  worst  feature. 
"  The  law,"  says  one  of  its  principal  advo- 
cates, "  levels  its  claims  to  us  as  ice  are." 
He  contends,  that  the  standard  of  duty  is 
what  the  law  requires  of  us,  "  in  our  cir- 
cumstances, with  all  the  ignorance,  and  de- 
bility of  body  and  mind,  which  have  resulted 
from  the  intemperance  and  abuse  of  the  hu- 
man constitution,  through  so  many  genera- 
tions." He  thinks  the  standard  will  be 
higher,  hereafter,  "token  the  human  consti- 
tution, by  the  universal  precedence  of  correct 
and  thorough  temperance  principles,  may 
have  acquired  its  pristine  health  and  pow- 
ers" I — In  this  way,  the  rule  of  holy  living 
is  brought  down,  in  the  case  of  each  indi- 
vidual, to  the  level  of  his  depravity  and  cor- 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  109 

ruption.  And,  I  trust,  the  time  is  yet  to 
come,  when  intelligent  christians  will  ask 
for  arguments  to  convince  them,  that  no 
good  effects  are  to  be  anticipated,  from 
aiming  at  such  a  standard  as  this.  Perfect 
holiness,  according  to  this  rule,  would  be 
easily  obtained,  and,  worth  but  little,  when 
acquired. — Be  it  our  purpose,  to  aim  at 
a  higher  standard — to  keep  our  eye  fixed 
upon  a  brighter,  and  more  shining  mark — 
to  be  satisfied  with  no  attainments,  until  we 
are  "perfect,"  as  our  "Father  in  heaven 
is  perfect."  And,  then,  we  shall  never  be 
without  a  motive  to  continued  activity,  and 
increasing  faithfulness,  in  the  discharge  of 
duty. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  in  estimating 
the  practical  relations  of  the  doctrine  we 
have  endeavored  to  establish,  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  Christian  upon  earth,  as  always 
contending  with  remaining  sin,  is  made  sub- 
servient, in  a  high  degree,  to  the  promotion 
of  the  glory  of  God.  He  often  permits 
things  to  occur,  with  a  view  to  this  end, 
10 


110  SANCTIFICATION 

which,  in  themselves,  are  evil.  It  is,  only, 
on  this  principle,  that  we  can  account  for 
the  introduction  of  sin  into  the  world.  And, 
though  it  might  seem  desirable,  in  itself, 
that  the  being  of  sin  should  be  destroyed 
immediately,  in  those  who  become  the  sub- 
jects of  the  redemption  by  Christ,  yet  it  is 
easy  to  see,  in  what  manner  the  protraction 
of  the  spiritual  warfare  may  tend  to  honor 
the  perfections  of  his  nature, — especially  his 
power,  his  wisdom,  his  faithfulness  and 
truth.  His  power  appears,  in  carrying  on 
the  work,  which  he  has  commenced  in  them, 
in  opposition  to  so  many  opposing  influ- 
ences, from  within  and  from  without — it  is 
like  keeping  a  spark  alive,  while  surround- 
ed with  water,  or  preventing  a  bush  from 
being  consumed,  while  it  burns  in  the  fire. 
His  wisdom  appears,  in  circumventing  the 
designs  of  Satan,  who  still  works  upon  the 
remaining  corruption  of  his  people — in  set- 
ting bounds  to  his  rage  and  power, — and  in 
establishing  their  faith  and  hope,  in  opposi- 
tion to  his  devices.     And  his  faithfulness 


STATED  AND  DEFENDED.  Ill 

and  truth  are  illustrated,  in  not  forsaking 
his  people,  though  they  serve  him  so  imper- 
fectly— in  fulfilling  his  promises  to  them, 
though  they  are  so  unstable  in  their  attach- 
ment to  him — and,  in  pursuing  them  with 
grace  and  mercy,  through  all  their  times  of 
need,  though  they  fail,  in  so  great  a  meas- 
ure, to  bring  forth  the  fruit  which  he  re- 
quires. 

Finally  :  we  have  reason  to  be  satisfied, 
with  the  common  doctrine  of  sanctification, 
because  it  is  best  adapted,  to  reconcile  us  to 
the  approach  of  death,  and  to  endear  to  us 
the  prospect  of  tee.  heavenly  rest.  Death, 
in  itself,  is  always  an  unwelcome  visitor  to 
the  abodes  of  men ;  and  strong  counterbal- 
ancing considerations  are  necessary,  to  keep 
down  the  risings  of  regret  and  fear,  in  the 
prospect  of  its  coming.  If  I  am  to  antici- 
pate no  greater  deliverance  from  sin,  be- 
yond it,  than  that  to  which  I  have  already 
attained,  their  is  nothing,  in  this  view,  to 
reconcile  me  to  its  approach.  But,  if  the 
struggle  with  this  King  of  Terrors  is  to  fix 


112  SANCTIFICATION. 

the  date  of  my  last  contest  with  sin,  as  well 
as  with  sorrow — if  my  "  earthly  house  of 
this  tabernacle"  is  to  be  "  dissolved,"  that 
I  may  awake,  in  the  perfect  likeness  of  God 
— if  the  purity  and  glory  of  heaven,  to 
which  I  am  hastening,  is  a  boundless  ocean, 
in  comparison  with  the  narrow  streams  of 
holiness  and  delight,  which  are  circulating 
here — and,  if  the  only  way,  from  the  one  to 
the  other,  is  across  the  waters  of  Jordan — 
then,  welcome  death ! 

"  Let  worms  devour  my  wasting  flesh, 
And  crumble  all  my  bones  to  dust." 

The  thought  itself  is  repulsive,  but  the  asso- 
ciation is  inspiring  !  The  valley  is  dark  and 
gloomy,  but  the  prospect,  beyond,  is  bright 
and  clear  !  The  advantage  to  be  gained,  is 
greater  than  the  evil  to  be  encountered. 
And  this  consideration  extracts  the  sting  of 
death,  and  enables  us  to  triumph  over  it, 
while  we  fall  by  its  stroke. 


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